Optimal Direction For Solar Panels

While the angle of your solar panels is important a more important factor in your energy production is going to be the direction your panels face.

Optimal direction for solar panels.

Therefore directions like southwest or southeast are fine. However the electricity system is not as simple as it sometimes seems and the best direction to face solar panels may actually be west. What is the best direction for my solar panels. Latitude x 0 9 23 5 degrees.

To correct the compass reading your solar installer will calculate the magnetic declination of your site. This is because for those of us living in the northern hemisphere the sun is always along the southern part of the sky as we complete our yearly orbit around it. However it has been proven that west facing solar panels can produce more power. Usually this is the best direction because solar panels will receive direct light throughout the day.

Once you have figured this out you can use one of the formulas below to calculate the best angle for your solar panels for each season. The conventional wisdom in the northern hemisphere is that the best direction to face solar panels is south since that is generally where they d receive the most sunlight. In the northern hemisphere the general rule for solar panel placement is solar panels should face true south and in the southern true north. The traditional advice is to position solar panels to be south facing.

This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere. There are two methods for calculating the tilt angle for solar panels. True south can also be calculated at noon when shadows from vertical objects run north south. Pick the right location and solar panel direction.

Panels mounted on a standard pitch roof facing east or west will produce approximately 15 less output than panels mounted on a south facing roof of a standard pitch. Latitude x 0 9 29 degrees. Both of these angles require latitude degrees. However solar panels can be orientated on any roof that faces south of either east or west.

Latitude 2 5 degrees. Similarly you can calculate the angle for winter by adding 15. Whatever your latitude is you can subtract 15 from it to calculate the angle for summer. Solar panels should face south for any home in america to obtain maximum power generation.

The conventional understanding is that the ideal solar panel direction is facing south.