Layton Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours
Solar Green Energy Summary for Layton, Utah
Lattitude: 41.0773
Sunlight
Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6 hours per day
1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 8 hours per day
2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 8.3 hours per day
When trying to calculate your solar power needs there are a variety of factors to consider. Panel type and location, electricity needs, number of panels needed etc. One key to figuring out the math is factoring in the average peak sunlight hours in a day. Unlike total sunlight hours, peak sunlight hours are only when the sun is strong enough to power your solar panel. Using this number can help determine your needs to power your home or business in Layton, Utah.
The equator has a latitude of zero while Layton has a latitude of 41.1. 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.
A tracking mount will increase the average peak sun hours for a solar power system. Think about a panel that is tracking the sun in the sky vs a panel that is fixed and not moving: you will see a higher efficiency ratio of productions. A 1-axis mount will track the sun from East to West from sunrise to sunset and move on a single axis of rotation. A 2-axis mount will track the Sun from East to West the same as a 1-axis mount would, but it will also track the angle of the sun in the sky as it slowly varies season to season. A 2-axis mount is more necessary in high latitude regions where the angle of the sun in the sky changes dramatically between each equinox.
The sunrise and sunset is very predictable every day, but things like cloud coverage and weather are less predictable and vary daily and annually. If a location that is usually very sunny experiences a huge increase in storms and cloud coverage in a given year than the average peak sun hours for that day or year will probably decrease. Tall objects such as trees and buildings can block out the sun during high solar insolation times, so be sure to strategically place your solar panels to get better efficiency.
Since we know the latitude of Layton 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 peak sun hours per day. 8 hours per day with a 1-axis tracking mount that tracks the sun from sunrise to sunset, and 8.3 hours with a 2-axis tracking mount that tracks the sun everywhere in the sky.