Kirvin Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours
Solar Green Energy Summary for Kirvin, Texas
Lattitude: 31.7671
Sunlight
Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.5 hours per day
1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 8.6 hours per day
2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 8.9 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.
The equator has a latitude of zero while Kirvin has a latitude of 31.8. 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.
You will notice that the average peak sun hours for Kirvin 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.
Weather is a big determinate of average peak sun hours each day. There are many aspects of weather that can increase or lessen the peak sun hours in a day in a particular location. For example cloud coverage is a crucial variable. And more importantly, what type of cloud coverage; thin scattered clouds will have less diminishing power on the solar insolation than thick rainy storm clouds. Sometimes long periods of sunny days are rare in certain locations, this would increase average peak sun hours for that time-frame
We can use previous years of data to estimate the amount of peak sun hours in Kirvin. A fixed tilt mount for example will receive 6.5 average hours per day. For more efficiency for your system in Kirvin you could use a 1-axis tracking mount and increase your daily peak sun average to 8.6 hours, or even further with a 2-axis panel to get an average of 8.9 hours.