http://www.wholesalesolar.com/Information-SolarFolder/SunHoursUSMap.html
I'm in Zone 6. :( On Thu, Dec 12, 2013 at 12:41 PM, Bob Higgins <rj.bob.higg...@gmail.com>wrote: > To get kWH/day from peak kW in PV, you multiply by the average full power > equivalent hours per day. In FL, this is 4 hours (mostly due to clouds). > In NM the number is 5. In the continental US as a whole, the number is > probably about 3.5-4. This is for a fixed (not tracking) array. This > number is available on the web (I don't remember where) for anywhere in the > US. > > I have a 5.3 kW peak fixed PV system that provides most of the power for > my house. For 6 months of the year, my electric consumption from the grid > is 0 kWH or less (sometimes I have a net outflow to the grid which gets > banked). FL has net metering and my system is grid-tie with no batteries. > It works great. Best S. FL months are April or May. > > > On Thu, Dec 12, 2013 at 9:43 AM, Jed Rothwell <jedrothw...@gmail.com>wrote: > >> Here is a graph of U.S. PV solar installations per quarter since 2010. It >> shows rapid growth: >> >> >> http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/12/more-records-for-quarterly-us-solar-installations >> >> It shows "930 MW in the July-September" quarter. That means 930 MW peak >> output from the solar cells, not 930 MW of 24-hour baseline capacity. 930 >> MW baseline would be the output from an average U.S. nuclear plant. I do >> not know the capacity factor for solar. For wind it is roughly 30% of >> nameplate capacity. >> >> The peak of PV solar output matches peak demand in many places, unlike >> wind which tends to peak at night. >> >> Here is a recent graph of wind turbine output versus total power >> consumption in Denmark: >> >> >> http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/12/postcard-from-the-future-122-wind-power-in-denmark >> >> You can see that wind is quite intermittent even on the scale of the >> entire landmass of Denmark. The good news is, with today's weather >> forecasting you can predict approximately how much power turbines over a >> large area will produce for the next few days, so you can schedule other >> dispatchable energy sources. >> >> - Jed >> >> >
