Solar Panel Facing

This table shows you how much energy you can expect to get from almost any combination of solar panel direction and angle in the capital cities compared to the optimum orientation.

Solar panel facing.

The direction solar panels should ideally face for optimum sun exposure varies depending on location. Solar panels installed on a roof facing southwest or southeast will generally produce about 8 less power than the same panels in the same climate on a south facing roof. However the economics of installing solar panels on a roof that does not face the south still usually stack up for the homeowner. One solution is to compensate by increasing the solar collector area either using more panels or larger collectors.

Therefore the best angle for your solar panels is the one that allows the panels to get the most direct perpendicular light. However it has been proven that west facing solar panels can produce more power. Solar panels facing east or west won t get as much light as those on a southern facing roof. For australia solar power yields are higher when panels face north.

As a result solar panels facing south produce the most electricity. West facing solar panels get less sun than those that face south but it s not as little as you may think. According to the concord consortium makers of energy3d solar energy modeling software a home in boston ma with panels that face west would get 80 of the electricity that a house with south facing panels would. If your property is located in the northern hemisphere panels facing.

For example in brisbane if your panels are facing west 270 and are angled 20 from horizontal you will get 89 of the energy compared to the optimum orentation of north and 30. Generally it s common knowledge in the solar industry that these south facing panels should be tilted between a 30 and 40 degree angle. Solar panels produce electricity when sunlight hits their surface and they produce the most energy when that sunlight is exactly perpendicular to the panel face. This being the case the general best practice to date has always been to position solar panels facing south in order to capture the maximum amount of sunlight overall.

Different results can be expected based on its orientation. Consider reading about how a solar panel works before moving forward. Since the majority of solar panel owners keep their system on the grid we can split this grouping into simply those who pay for energy based on a tou payment. In fact all southern hemisphere locations should ideally position panels in a northerly direction.

Pick the right location and solar panel direction. Since the sun rises in the east solar panels facing in that direction are more productive in the morning.