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am i stupid or are solar panel's efficiency independent on latitude
(discuss.tchncs.de)
Consider the following drawing:
I take it that solar panel's generated electricity would be the same whether it's installed in scandinavia or africa, as long as it faces in the same direction? or am i stupid
i'm asking this because everywhere i hear how "solar panels have higher efficiency near the equator", but that's just not true. Maps such as these are common on the internet:
And they suggest that solar energy around the equator would be twice as available as on northern latitudes, but actually that's just the solar irradiation if the panels weren't inclined, but in practice, they were likely will be. So they receive similar amounts of power.
edit: so, it's the cloud cover. got it; thanks :D
Assuming an ideal mounting angle...
Near the equator, sunlight has less distance of atmosphere to travel through than at higher or lower latitudes, generally speaking.
Then there's also the average of the weather patterns for different areas, like some areas get way more cloud cover and rain than others.
And then there's also the air pollution factor, and since significantly more people live in the northern hemisphere than the southern, of course the northern hemisphere has more air pollution.
I hope my insight on this has been helpful.