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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
Others have mentioned the varying thickness of the atmosphere that the sunlight has to pass through, but cloud cover is the more important factor. The map you are looking at seems to include cloud cover in its calculations.
Thanks!
You're probably right, but atmosphere depth isn't a minor impact. It's visually observable from almost anywhere in the world by watching a sunrise or sunset in a clear day: the sun, which can't be comfortably stared at at noon, is often watchable as it approaches and sinks behind the horizon. At even 0% occlusion, the ambient light levels are dramatically lower than at noon, and that's due almost entirely to just the atmosphere.
Granted the line between clouds and "pure" atmosphere is fuzzy. There's a lot of particulate matter, smog, pollen, non-cloud-formed water vapor.