Smyrna Mills Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours
Solar Green Energy Summary for Smyrna Mills, Maine
Lattitude: 46.1295
Sunlight
Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 4.6 hours per day
1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 4.9 hours per day
2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.3 hours per day
Looking at the average peak sunlight hours in Smyrna Mills 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 Smyrna Mills, Maine.
The equator has a latitude of zero while Smyrna Mills has a latitude of 46.1. 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.
The sun moves through the sky during the day, and changes positions in the sky throughout the year as the seasons change. A fixed solar panel remains fixed in position during this movement. So, although it is effective in capturing sunlight, a 1-axis or 2-axis panel can be more efficient. A 1-axis panel tracks the sun's movement throughout the day from sunrise to sunset. In addition to that, the 2-axis panel also accounts for the movement throughout the year.
The sun is a great ball of gas that rises and sets every day that the earth rotates while in orbit around the sun. Barring any major disasters this is a very predictable occurance every day. Latitude helps predict this even more, narrowing it down to the minute for sunrise and sunset. But some things aren’t as predictable that will greatly influence the efficiency of solar panels. Weather and cloud coverage for example can greatly diminish peak sun hours on any given day. Thick storm clouds will block a high percentage of the sun's rays, resulting in lower output of your solar panels. Weather needs to be factored into deciding when to use your system, or how much output one expects to get.
The average daily peak sunlight hours in Smyrna Mills, Maine is 4.6 hours. Use this number when trying to calculate your solar needs in Smyrna Mills. As you can see above, if you were to use a 1-Axis or 2-Axis panel then the daily average would increase to 4.9 hour and 6.3 hours, respectively.