Best Position For Solar Panels On Roof

Solar panels should face south for any home in america to obtain maximum power generation.

Best position for solar panels on roof.

However solar panels can be orientated on any roof that faces south of either east or west. But what if you don t have a suitable south facing roof. I hate to say it but it depends. For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south.

Go west young one. True south or the geographic south will yield the best results overall. 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. So where is the best place to install your solar panels.

If ground or wall mounted panels don t work for you solar panels can also be mounted on a building near your house like your garage or a storage shed. 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. 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. Your solar installer will calculate the magnetic declination of your home to make sure the panels are fitted to face true south.

In general solar panels can be installed on almost every form of roofing. Therefore directions like southwest or southeast are fine. The most optimum direction to face your solar panels is somewhere between south and west. It is at this location that your panels will receive the maximum sunlight throughout the day.

For optimum performance a solar panel should be at a 30 degree angle and face south or southwest. In sydney south facing solar panels will typically produce around 28 less energy than north facing panels and the steeper the roof the less electricity they will produce. Ground mounted solar panels can even be placed on trackers which adjust the position of the panels throughout the year in order to maximize the amount of sunlight reaching them. 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.

If your roof does not face the right direction then surface mounted panels or pole mounted panels may be your best bet. This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere. The good news is that figuring out location can be easy. A solar expert can actually measure the amount of shade that falls on your property throughout the day and give you the best recommendation for solar system placement.

Generally it s common knowledge in the solar industry that these south facing panels should be tilted between a 30 and 40 degree angle.