Willow Creek Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours
Solar Green Energy Summary for Willow Creek, Alaska
Lattitude: 61.8336
Sunlight
Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 3.1 hours per day
1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 4.2 hours per day
2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 5.2 hours per day
Peak sun hours is arguably the most important number to consider before installing your solar panels. Unlike total sun hours, peak sun hours are calculated by looking at the amount of sunlight hours in a 24 hour period that is strong enough to be absorb by a solar panel. One way to imagine peak sun hours is to think about a solar powered calculator you owned in school. If you covered the solar panel with your finger, or tried to use the calculator in the dark, the calculator would not work. As you slowly exposed the calculator to light the calculator would eventually turn on and be usable. The same is true with peak sun hours; these are the hours that your solar panels receive enough sunlight to work. Looking at the average peak sunlight hours of 3.1 per day can help you determine the amount of solar panels you need to install to power your home or business in Willow Creek, Alaska.
The equator has a latitude of zero while Willow Creek has a latitude of 61.8. Any city located on the equator will receive the most sunlight throughout the year because the sunlight arrives at a perpendicular 90 degree angle to the earth at the equator. The further you are from the equator the more your daily sunlight hours can vary.
Depending on your output needs, to get more out of your solar panels you can either upgrade your technology, buy more panels, or buy different tracking type panels. A fixed solar panel remains fixed at one angle throughout the year. A 1-axis panel will produce more output because it follows the path of the sun from sunrise to sunset to maximize sun exposure. Even more productive is a 2-axis panel that not only follows the sun's path throughout the day, but also accounts for the more subtle sun changes throughout the year with the different seasons.
Although weather predicting technology has greatly evolved over time, it is still a rather unpredictable factor that will affect the amount of peak sun hours your solar power system will receive. Cloudy days for example will usually have lower peak sun hours that a clear sunny day. And areas that usually have more average sunny days per year will probably have higher peak sun hours that areas that are often overcast or stormy.
For Willow Creek the number of average daily peak sunlight hours for a fixed solar panel is 3.1 hours. If you are using a more efficient 1 or 2-axis panel then the number will increase to 4.2 hours for a 1-axis panel and 5.2 hours for a 2-axis panel.