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.

Roof direction for solar panels.

This is a simple tried and true way to find the perfect direction and like i said you can do it with no tools. This angle varies and is just about equal to the latitude of your home how far north you are in relation to the equator. Each situation is unique in terms of roof angle property layout and power consumption. 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.

For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south. It is at this location that your panels will receive the maximum sunlight throughout the day. Azimuth is a fancy word for the direction your panels face while tilt is a measurement of their angle up from horizontal. Generally it s common knowledge in the solar industry that these south facing panels should be tilted between a 30 and 40 degree angle.

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. An easy way to determine the direction that your roof faces is to use google maps. However you would want to face your solar panels in the opposite direction of where your shadows face. This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere.

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. What you are doing is optimizing your energy production for maximum savings with your utility company. Solar panels should face south for any home in america to obtain maximum power generation. To do this you should point your solar panel west.

This means that your solar panels will be put in a unique direction specifically to maximize energy production between this time range. Go west young one. Well when it comes to solar panels west is second best. In some cases your solar installer will install racks that allow the panels to be tilted slightly to maximize production.

But what if you don t have a suitable south facing roof. Solar panels are most effective when installed on south facing roofs. If you re installing solar panels on a roof the azimuth will be determined by which direction your roof points and the tilt will likely be fixed based on the pitch of your roof. When you point your solar panels west you are not maximizing the total amount of energy that is produced.

Therefore directions like southwest or southeast are fine. 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 most optimum direction to face your solar panels is somewhere between south and west.