Should Solar Panel Face Up

Photovoltaics produce power when the angle at which the sun s rays hit the panel surface the angle of incidence is small or when light strikes the panel as close to perpendicular as possible.

Should solar panel face up.

Recently the new york times and popular science even purported that solar panels should face west rather than south to avoid unintended consequences. On the other hand places located in the southern hemisphere of the planet must face north for maximum energy performance. Now that you know what direction your solar panels should face you can really start to imagine what a solar panel system can look like on your home. West facing solar panels get less sun than those that face south but it s not as little as you may think.

As you might have guessed the direction your panels face can be a major factor in how much energy your rooftop solar system produces. In locations that are not far to the north such as florida or texas solar panels do not need a drastic tilt. Installing panels that face north is not recommended since it results in the lowest electricity output. In order to collect energy more efficiently solar panels should be angled to face as close to the sun as possible.

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. 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. Apart from how much power each panel can produce how many panels you ll need what size and how well they ll work with your rooftop you ll also want to consider the best direction for solar panels to face.

Solar south or geographic south. Because high feed in tariffs were available they simply had to have an orientation facing north in order to maximise the amount of electricity they produced and so earn the most feed in. As you move farther to the north the sun has a lower position in the sky and solar panels must be tilted more. True south can also be calculated at noon when shadows from vertical objects run north south.

To correct the compass reading your solar installer will calculate the magnetic declination of your site. The environment that your solar panel system is installed in will be the biggest factor behind whether or not you are on tou. Five or six years ago the question of which direction solar panels should face was easy. Generally there are two main preferences when selecting the azimuth angle of the solar panels.

The direction solar panels should face is true south a k a.