5 Reasons why Houston is great for solar lights?
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Recently I read a news on fox26houston that Houston metro is planning to construct solar powered bus stops with fans and lights installed on them.
That looked very interesting to me and motivated me to write an article on why Houston is very suitable for solar energy.
I collected data on the subject and wrote down here. Overall there are 5 reasons that makes Houston an ideal city for solar. What are those reasons? Let’s dive in and see.
Latitude
Houston is located at the latitude 29.7604° N that falls within the optimal range for solar panel placement. The optimal tilt for solar panels is typically close to the latitude of the location, which for Houston is between 30 and 45 degrees
Average temperature
The average temperature in Houston is 70o Fahrenheit which is ideal for installing solar lights.
| Average | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 64°F | 68°F | 74°F | 79°F | 86°F | 91°F | 94°F | 94°F | 90°F | 82°F | 73°F | 66°F |
| Temp. | 54°F | 57°F | 63°F | 70°F | 77°F | 82°F | 84°F | 85°F | 80°F | 73°F | 63°F | 56°F |
| Low | 47°F | 50°F | 56°F | 63°F | 70°F | 75°F | 77°F | 77°F | 73°F | 65°F | 56°F | 49°F |
As you can see from the table that in all months high of temperature is above 64°F which makes it a suitable place for installing solar powered lights.
Average cloud coverage
The average cloud coverage in Houston is 59%.
| Fraction | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudier | 46% | 44% | 42% | 38% | 36% | 35% | 47% | 48% | 40% | 31% | 36% | 44% |
| Clearer | 54% | 56% | 58% | 62% | 64% | 65% | 53% | 52% | 60% | 69% | 64% | 56% |
As you can see Houston’s sky remains clear 50% of all. This condition is also a very important one while thinking about installing solar lights.
A thick cloud coverage will restrict the incoming sunlight to fall over the solar lights panels.
There is no such problem in Houston as it remains sunny most of the time.
Length of the day
The average length of the daytime in Houston is 12 hours providing ample hours to solar lights to get charged.
| Hours of | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight | 10.5h | 11.2h | 12.0h | 12.9h | 13.7h | 14.0h | 13.8h | 13.2h | 12.3h | 11.4h | 10.6h | 10.3h |
In all months the sun shines for over 10 hours giving the solar light’s sufficient time to charge.
Houston has an average of 216 sunny days per year. This means that solar lights will be able to collect sunlight for most of the year.
Also the solar elevation and azimuth in Houston is also favorable for the optimum working of the sun energy powered lights.
Solar irradiance
Houston receives an average of 5.53 kWh/m2/day of solar irradiance, which is above the national average of 5.25 kWh/m2/day. This means that solar lights in Houston will have plenty of sunlight to charge during the day.
Conclusion
As you saw above that these 5 factors are very favorable for the working of solar applications.
Houston city satisfies all the criteria required to install solar lights. Having solar lights installed at your home in Houston TX will be a good idea.