Port Alsworth Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours
Solar Green Energy Summary for Port Alsworth, Alaska
Lattitude: 60.1688
Sunlight
Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 3.8 hours per day
1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 4.4 hours per day
2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 5.1 hours per day
The amount of hours from sunrise to sunset is equal to the total sunlight hours in a 24 hour period. Similarly, peak sun hours are the amount of total sunlight hours in a 24 hour period that are strong enough to provide power from being captured by a solar panel. Not every hour of sunlight delivers the same amount of energy resources. The sunlight at sunrise does not provide as many resources as the amount of sunlight mid-day. Thus, looking at the average peak sunlight hours for Port Alsworth is valuable for calculating your solar needs.
Knowing the latitude of Port Alsworth will help estimate average peak sun hours for your area. The latitude is used to accurately estimate the time of sunrise and sunset, thus giving you the total hours of daylight each day. Once you know the total hours of daylight, you can estimate the amount of peak sun hours based on a number of variables such as weather, time of year, the angle of the solar panel.
They type of solar panel you use has an affect on the average peak sunlight hours. Some panels allow for movement, so they can track the sun as it rises in the east and sets in the west, or as the seasons change and the sun's path changes. A fixed panel remains fixed and does not have the ability to rotate, whereas a 1-axis and 2-axis panel can adjust with the sun.
Weather is a big determinate of average peak sun hours each day. There are many aspects of weather that can increase or lessen the peak sun hours in a day in a particular location. For example cloud coverage is a crucial variable. And more importantly, what type of cloud coverage; thin scattered clouds will have less diminishing power on the solar insolation than thick rainy storm clouds. Sometimes long periods of sunny days are rare in certain locations, this would increase average peak sun hours for that time-frame
In Port Alsworth the average yearly peak sun hours for a fixed tilt non-tracking solar panel mount is 3.8. This is for a fixed panel mounted at an angle that is equal to the latitude of the location for the entire year. The amount of peak sun hours increases to 4.4 hours if you are using a 1-axis panel, and to 5.1 hours if you upgrade to a 2-axis solar panel.