San Felipe Pueblo Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours
Solar Green Energy Summary for San Felipe Pueblo, New Mexico
Lattitude: 35.4338
Sunlight
Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.9 hours per day
1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 7.8 hours per day
2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 8.4 hours per day
Peak sun hours are a vital measurement to understand when considering the installation of solar panels. Peak sun hours are not the same as total sunlight hours because not every hour of sunlight during the day has enough strength and solar insolation to qualify as a peak sun hour. The rule of thumb is that a peak sun hour is when the intensity of the sun that is hitting your solar panel is providing at least 1,000 watts per square meter. This is an arbitrary number, but it is a number where most solar panels will be producing an efficient output and not underperforming due to sunshine that is not strong enough or direct enough.
Sunlight hits the earth directly at the equator. This is why the equator has a latitude of zero degrees. The latitude of San Felipe Pueblo is 35.4. Knowing the latitude of San Felipe Pueblo 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.
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.
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.
Since we know the latitude of San Felipe Pueblo we can take the average amount of total sunlight hours and estimate that with a fixed solar panel there would be an average of 6.9 peak sun hours per day. 7.8 hours per day with a 1-axis tracking mount that tracks the sun from sunrise to sunset, and 8.4 hours with a 2-axis tracking mount that tracks the sun everywhere in the sky.