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Looking at the average peak sunlight hours in Elgin 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 Elgin, Iowa.

Sunlight hits the earth directly at the equator. This is why the equator has a latitude of zero degrees. The latitude of Elgin is 43.0. Knowing the latitude of Elgin 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.

You will notice that the average peak sun hours for Elgin change based on the type of panel being used. The reason for this is quite simple. A fixed panel does exactly what it sounds like, remains fixed in one position at all times. A 1-axis and 2-axis panels have axis that allow them to rotate. The 1-axis rotates with the sun's daily east to west movement while a 2-axis also adjusts for seasonal changes.

There are more variables than latitude that can change average peak sun hours. Weather patterns and geography will influence solar insolation that reaches your system. Thick grey storm clouds for example will block out a lot of the sun to the point where there may be no peak sun hours in the middle of the day when the sun is usually very powerful. Trees and mountains can deflect the sunlight, so be sure your solar panel is selectively placed.

The average daily peak sunlight hours in Elgin, Iowa is 4.4 hours. Use this number when trying to calculate your solar needs in Elgin. As you can see above, if you were to use a 1-Axis or 2-Axis panel then the daily average would increase to 5.9 hour and 6.9 hours, respectively.