Will solar work in my location?

The suns solar activity is universal. Although some locations are better than others, solar will work anywhere. Irradiance is a measure of the sun’s power available at the earth’s surface. It is typically expressed in kilowatts per square meter. It averages about 1000 watts per square meter. With typical crystalline solar cell efficiency (14-16%), we can expect to generate about 140-160W per square meter off of solar cells placed in full sun. Irradiance multiplied by time equals Insolation. Insolation is a measure of the available energy from the sun and is expressed in terms of "full sun hours" (i.e. 4 full sun hours = 4 hours of sunlight at an irradiance level of 1000 watts per square meter). Obviously different parts of the world receive more sunlight than others which results in more "full sun hours" per day. The solar insolation zone map below gives you a general idea of the "full sun hours per day" for different zones. You have to extend the zones north and south for reference zones in Canada and Mexico.