Oakwood Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours
Solar Green Energy Summary for Oakwood, Illinois
Lattitude: 40.1101
Sunlight
Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 4.8 hours per day
1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 5.8 hours per day
2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6 hours per day
Looking at the average peak sunlight hours in Oakwood is a valuable number for determining your solar power setup. Peak sunlight hours are only the hours a day in which the sunlight is strong enough for the solar panels to do their job. Not every hour of sunlight was created equal. For example, solar panels do not provide much use during early sunrise and sunset, and therefore you should not look at total hours of sunlight in a day, but instead focus on peak sunlight hours. Using this number will provide a much better estimate of your needs for setting up panels in Oakwood, Illinois.
Sunlight hits the earth directly at the equator. This is why the equator has a latitude of zero degrees. The latitude of Oakwood is 40.1. Knowing the latitude of Oakwood can help you plan for your solar panel setup, as the larger the latitude the more variance you will see throughout the year for total daily sunlight hours.
There are a few ways to increase average peak sun hours per year for your solar power system. One way is to use a tracking mount solar panel instead of a fixed tilt solar panel. A 1-axis mount will track the sun throughout the sky from sunrise to sunset, giving your panel a more efficient facing direction towards the sun throughout the day. A 2-axis solar panel will track the sun in the sky throughout the day, but also change and follow the angle of the sun in the sky throughout the year. Both of these axis system solar panels will produce higher average peak sun hours than a fixed solar panel.
Another reason to consider average peak sun hours is because weather can dramatically affect the day-to-day output of solar panels. It goes without saying that a dark stormy day will produce less output than a clear sunny day. Looking at a yearly average helps account for these daily variables.
In Oakwood you can look at the average peak sun hours of a fixed solar panel mount, which will be 4.8 hours. This number iis an estimate based on data of previous years. With a tracking mount in Oakwood you could theoretically increase the amount of peak sun hours per with a 1-axis mount, and get 5.8 hours, or a 2-axis mount and potentially increase your average to 6 hours.