Roof Orientation For Solar Panels

The size of solar panels makes them well suited to be installed vertically on most roofs.

Roof orientation for solar panels.

Go west young one. 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. The solar assessor shall identify the orientation azimuth of the proposed array location and show the orientation on the site and roof plans. South is best west works well too and a mix is ok too.

However solar panels can be orientated on any roof that faces south of either east or west. Since residential solar s infancy just two decades ago conventional wisdom has dictated that the panels face true south since that orientation is thought to provide them with the maximum possible sun exposure throughout the day. As we have mentioned before in the southern hemisphere due north is usually the best orientation for panels. Your solar panel installers can help determine if your roof slope is suitable for solar panel installation.

This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere. The amount of energy each solar panel produces will be directly reduced by the amount of shade covering each panel so less shade is always better. 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.

But not everyone has a perfectly oriented roof. In general solar panels that are oriented directly east or directly west will produce about 20 percent less electricity than if they were facing south. Well when it comes to solar panels west is second best. 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.

Why orientation matters with rooftop solar. Regardless of the orientation experts note that it is more efficient to have a consecutive block of solar panels installed using the same orientation either vertical or horizontal. If the roof is not a feasible location panels and arrays may be mounted on other structures such as garages carports or sheds or ground mounted racks. A roof slope that angles between 15 40 degrees should suffice for most solar power systems.

The sun s movements throughout the day. The amount of sunlight the roof gets could also impact the direction in which they are placed. For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south. Orientation of the panels.

Therefore directions like southwest or southeast are fine. In summary here are the roof factors that affect your home solar panel performance. But what if you don t have a suitable south facing roof.