Peak Sun Hours Australia: (Numbers, and Map)

Calculating peak sun hours is the most important step when designing the ideal size solar system to power your house. It gives you an idea of how much actual solar irradiance your rooftop receives. Why does solar irradiance matter? I'll explain in a moment.

Here's a chart and Map of the daily average peak sun hours in Australia.

Peak Sun Hours Australia

RankCity Daily Average Peak Sun Hours
(Solar irradiance kWh/m2)
1Townsville
6.2 hours
2Toowoomba6.1 hours
3Darwin6.1 hours
4Perth6 hours
5Gold Coast5.8 hours
6Sunshine Coast5.8 hours
7Cairns5.7 hours
8Brisbane5.6 hours
9Bendigo5.4 hours
10Albury-Wodonga5.4 hours
11Sydney5.3 hours
12Adelaide5.3 hours
13Canberra5.3 hours
14Central Coast
5.3 hours
15Wollongong
5.1 hours
16Ballarat4.8 hours
17Melbourne4.7 hours
18Geelong4.5 hours
19Hobart4 hours

Summary

  • On average Australia receives between 4 - 6 peak sun hours daily.
  • On average Sydney, Australia receives about 5.3 peak sun hours daily.
  • On average Melbourne, Australia receives about 4.7 peak sun hours daily
  • On average Adelaide, Australia receives about 5.3 peak sun hours daily.

Data Resource: I have used PVWatts solar irradiance calculator to create the above list

Tip: Enter the city name in "search bar box" of the table to easily find out the peak sun hours of your city.

Why consider peak sun hours?

Solar panels are designed to produce their wattage output under standard test conditions - STC.

STC includes:

  • Solar irradiance: 1000 watts per meter square (1 kWh / m2)
  • Temperature: 25°C (77°F)
  • Air mass (AM): 1.5

1 peak sun hour is equal to when the sunlight intensity (Solar irradiance) averages about 1 kWh/m2 for an hour.

This is why we consider peak sun hours as a baseline when designing the ideal size solar system for a house.

For example: You need about 1.5 times large solar system in Hobart (4 peak sun hours) than in Townsville (6.2 peak sun hours) to produce the same amount of electricity.

I have explained this topic in detail, where you'll learn how to calculate peak sun hours, and how to use them to select the right size solar system size for your house or for an RV.

Must Read: Peak Sun Hours: Explanation, Importance, How To Calculate?

How to calculate peak sun hours in Australia?

If you want to find out the peak sun hours of your location for every individual month, follow these steps.

  1. Enter your city name in PVWatts solar irradiance calculator
  2. Confirm the location with the help of google map
  3. Click "results"

Let's calculate together.

Step 1

Enter your city name or address and click "GO>>".

how to calculate peak sun hours

step 2

Make sure the calculator picked up the right location with the help of Google Maps. If it does, click "results".

Now you can see the number of peak sun hours your city, country, region, or rooftop receives per day every individual month.

peak sun hours Australia map

Peak Sun Hours Map Australia

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Chris Tsitouris is a renewable energy professional with 10+ years of experience as Director of Engineering at Solar Spectrum, previously working as Project Manager at SunPower and Energy Analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. As a thought leader, Chris has authored numerous articles and research papers.

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