Roof Direction For Solar Panels

This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere.

Roof direction for solar panels.

In the northern hemisphere the sun crosses the sky a little to the south which means putting solar panels on a south facing roof is the best way for homeowners to capture the most solar energy. 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. Solar panels are most effective when installed on south facing roofs. It is at this location that your panels will receive the maximum sunlight throughout the day.

Therefore directions like southwest or southeast are fine. Go west young one. This angle varies and is just about equal to the latitude of your home how far north you are in relation to the equator. But what if you don t have a suitable south facing roof.

For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south. Well when it comes to solar panels west is second best. An easy way to determine the direction that your roof faces is to use google maps. While the general consensus in the solar power industry is that either west or south is the best direction for solar panels to face these two options don t necessarily address the needs of every individual solar user.

When you point your solar panels west you are not maximizing the total amount of energy that is produced. If your roof does not face the right direction then surface mounted panels or pole mounted panels may be your best bet. This is a simple tried and true way to find the perfect direction and like i said you can do it with no tools. On the other hand if you live in the southern hemisphere you can use this same technique.

The most optimum direction to face your solar panels is somewhere between south and west. Solar panels should face south for any home in america to obtain maximum power generation. 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. In some cases your solar installer will install racks that allow the panels to be tilted slightly to maximize production.

To do this you should point your solar panel west. However you would want to face your solar panels in the opposite direction of where your shadows face. The direction that your roof faces also referred to as the azimuth angle is the primary factor determining how much sunshine your solar panels will see over the course of the day. However solar panels can be orientated on any roof that faces south of either east or west.

What you are doing is optimizing your energy production for maximum savings with your utility company. Each situation is unique in terms of roof angle property layout and power consumption. Azimuth is a fancy word for the direction your panels face while tilt is a measurement of their angle up from horizontal.