Hunters Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours
Solar Green Energy Summary for Hunters, Washington
Lattitude: 48.1168
Sunlight
Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 3.7 hours per day
1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 4.8 hours per day
2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.7 hours per day
Peak sun hours is arguably the most important number to consider before installing your solar panels. Unlike total sun hours, peak sun hours are calculated by looking at the amount of sunlight hours in a 24 hour period that is strong enough to be absorb by a solar panel. One way to imagine peak sun hours is to think about a solar powered calculator you owned in school. If you covered the solar panel with your finger, or tried to use the calculator in the dark, the calculator would not work. As you slowly exposed the calculator to light the calculator would eventually turn on and be usable. The same is true with peak sun hours; these are the hours that your solar panels receive enough sunlight to work. Looking at the average peak sunlight hours of 3.7 per day can help you determine the amount of solar panels you need to install to power your home or business in Hunters, Washington.
Although you can easily predict sunrise and sunset hours each day to the minute, looking at latitude can help with your solar planning. The closer you get to the equator the closer your latitude gets to zero. Sunlight hours on the equator are consistent throughout the entire year. Places further from the equator can have large variance in daily sunlight. For example higher latitudes can have very long summer days with lots of sunlight and very dark winters. The latitude of Hunters is 48.1.
You will notice that the average peak sun hours for Hunters 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.
Looking at latitude, average peak sun hours and various data can obviously help when planning for your solar power needs. The one thing you can never fully account for is changing weather. Storms, rain, cloud coverage all have an impact on solar panel capabilities.
We can use previous years of data to estimate the amount of peak sun hours in Hunters. A fixed tilt mount for example will receive 3.7 average hours per day. For more efficiency for your system in Hunters you could use a 1-axis tracking mount and increase your daily peak sun average to 4.8 hours, or even further with a 2-axis panel to get an average of 6.7 hours.