Roof Orientation For Solar Panels

When your two best options are east or west which should you choose.

Roof orientation for solar panels.

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. Go west young one. For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south. Orientation of the panels.

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. The amount of sunlight the roof gets could also impact the direction in which they are placed. The solar assessor shall identify the orientation azimuth of the proposed array location and show the orientation on the site and roof plans. But what if you don t have a suitable south facing roof.

Even with this decrease in performance solar panels will produce enough electricity to save you hundreds of dollars a year. The sun s movements throughout the day. South is best west works well too and a mix is ok too. 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.

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. In summary here are the roof factors that affect your home solar panel performance. Individual solar panels can also be adjusted to an optimal angle that maximizes their sun exposure. 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.

Why orientation matters with rooftop solar. A roof slope that angles between 15 40 degrees should suffice for most solar power systems. 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. As we have mentioned before in the southern hemisphere due north is usually the best orientation for panels.

Well when it comes to solar panels west is second best. However solar panels can be orientated on any roof that faces south of either east or west. 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. This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere.

Solar panels should face south for any home in america to obtain maximum power generation. Your solar panel installers can help determine if your roof slope is suitable for solar panel installation. But not everyone has a perfectly oriented roof.