18 November 2008
Step 1 for solar panel installation: insolation
Posted by Cecilia under: Energy; Home .
Getting theoretical information about solar panels’ power efficiency and long-lasting batteries is one part of the equation. The other side is getting all information you’ll need to take the step from theory to practice.
What are the calculations you’ll have to make to ensure enough power generation through solar panels?
One important factor is the sunlight intensity called insolation. Insolation is calculated in terms of “full sun” hours. One full sun hour means one hour of 100% sunshine.
Full sun hours don’t coincide with the hours the sun is above the horizon. There is a difference between “solar south” and “compass south”.
Solar south spans the time between 9.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m.. These are the most productive hours of sunlight. Before and after these hours solar power is produced on a much lower level.
To find out the insolation for your house check out Solar4Power’s Solar Insolation for U.S. Major Cities or at Global Maps of Solar Power.
To calculate the required amount of solar panels you have to determine an average insolation number between summer high and winter low sunlight.
Finally, remember that the surroundings of your house is another important factor influencing the amount of sunlight reaching your roof. Shade from trees and other houses can significantly reduce your solar hours.
6 Comments so far...
Today in Sikantis - November 18, 2008 « Sikantis Says:
18 November 2008 at 1:54 am.
[...] Innovative News - Step 1 for solar panel installation: insolation [...]
Step 2 for solar panel installation: inverter | Innovative News Says:
19 November 2008 at 12:18 am.
[...] Step 1 for solar panel installation: insolation [...]
Step 3 for solar panel installation: solar panels | Innovative News Says:
20 November 2008 at 12:19 am.
[...] Step 1 for solar panel installation: insolation [...]
Building the Hogan » Blog Archive » Siting the house - Part 2 Says:
21 May 2009 at 1:08 pm.
[...] solar south. A good starting point for determining solar south for your location can be found on Innovative News. Once we had located solar south, we could set the [...]
sOlAr pANEls Says:
9 September 2009 at 4:05 pm.
This opens up a really interesting topic that most solar panel enthusiasts often neglect…that is where to place our solar panels. After spending so much time on research and building or buying an expensive solar panel, most of us just “chuck” it on the roof without consideration for what you just said. Thanks for the really important and educational post!
Zenaida Strem Says:
23 March 2010 at 2:36 am.
I tried to get the feed for the RSS for your article but it is not properly displaying in Google Chrome. Does anyone have any suggestions?
