Picnic Point Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours
Solar Green Energy Summary for Picnic Point, Washington
Lattitude: 47.8744
Sunlight
Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 3.4 hours per day
1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 4.2 hours per day
2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 4.4 hours per day
It goes without saying that throughout the year the amount of sunlight in any given day is going to vary. The time of year and weather will have a strong influence on daily sunshine. Looking at the average amount of peak sunshine hours in a day during an entire year stretch is a valuable exercise when trying to determine the amount and type of solar panels you need to install to power your business or your home. 3.4 peak sun hours means that in Picnic Point on average there are 3.4 hours a day where the sun is strong enough for solar panels to harness its energy. This number is less than the amount of total sunlight hours in a day because there are times during the day (ex. sunrise and sunset) where the sun is not strong enough to benefit solar panels.
The latitude at the equator of the earth is zero degrees. This is where sunlight strikes the earth most directly. Due to the earth's curved shape, sunlight hits at a various angles depending on location. As latitude increases, the further you are located from the equator and more variance you see in sunlight hours. The latitude of Picnic Point is 47.9.
Throughout the day the sun obviously moves throughout the Picnic Point sky. The suns position in the sky also changes throughout the year with the seasons. A fixed solar panel does not accommodate for these changes. However, a 1-axis panel rotates and follows the sun’s path during the day. A 2-axis panel both follows the sun’s daily path as well as the seasonal differences
Weather is one of the major culprits that will cause inconsistent total peak sun hours for any given day. The sunrise and sunset will always be predictable every day, but the weather is hard to predict and cloud coverage can greatly diminish the efficiency of a solar power system on any given day. On the bright side, a location that is known to have cloudy weather a majority of the year could have unexpectedly more sunny days, so it can go both ways.
In Picnic Point you can look at the average peak sun hours of a fixed solar panel mount, which will be 3.4 hours. This number iis an estimate based on data of previous years. With a tracking mount in Picnic Point you could theoretically increase the amount of peak sun hours per with a 1-axis mount, and get 4.2 hours, or a 2-axis mount and potentially increase your average to 4.4 hours.