Understanding Your Solar Resource

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Understanding Your Solar Resource


To optimize the solar system for your home or office, it is good to identify an estimated peak sun hour amount. This is called the solar resource. There are several advantages to possessing this knowledge.

One, this figure offers you a comparison to other how other spots receive solar power, enabling you to confirm the amount of solar power that your system will generate throughout the year at various periods. It also gives you a better idea of the type of equipment that is needed to harness the power.


The solar resource will determine the efficiency level of your solar system. The positioning of your solar photovoltaic (PV) modules will affect the system’s power depending on the sun’s position in relation to the modules. Hence, solar system installers will note the alignment of the system to the true south, or site azimuth, as well as the angle or tilt of your structure as they install the solar panels. These specifications, along with the peak sun hour, will determine the energy quantum that a piece of solar equipment will deliver.


Two, this knowledge allows you to discuss and negotiate with seasoned professional installers, as well as to confirm the contractors’ trustworthiness and experience in solar system installations. An experienced and knowledgeable contractor should be able to discuss with you how the solar resource will impact your solar system installation, both now and later. But the main reason you need this information is so you can grasp the total energy that is available through your solar window.

Being able to figure out the amount of energy that can be generated from any piece of solar equipment gives you an upper hand in understanding the workability of the solar equipment you have to choose from so that you can understand your contractors’ advice more intelligently and make the best choices for your particular needs.


A solar system is an expensive purchase. Its cost can run up to thousands of dollars and more, so you would do well to apply the same due diligence as you would for any type of costly purchase; even more so given that this provides a daily necessity.


Fortunately, engineers have made our lives easier with the design of appropriate and effective analysis tools for on site measurement of solar efficiency. An experienced and knowledgeable contractor or solar installer should perform such an analysis during the first visit to your solar site to measure the solar power of your solar window, as you have identified it.


Solar Pathfinder is one such analysis tool that is widely used by engineers and solar contractors. The Solar Pathfinder positions a half-sphere device to the sun’s path, which is the true south. From the sun path chart, an outline of potential obstructions to the solar system’s power when installed at the desired position is displayed. This outline is made to display all possible obstructions to the sun’s energy at any given time of the day and throughout the whole year. The reading can be then be extracted easily to determine the