Which Direction Should Solar Panels Face

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.

Which direction should solar panels face.

As you might have guessed the direction your panels face can be a major factor in how much energy your rooftop solar system produces. You could even stick a stick in the ground and take note. The conventional wisdom in the northern hemisphere is that the best direction to face solar panels is south since that is generally where they d receive the most sunlight. The following is a guest post by dr.

It is at this location that your panels will receive the maximum sunlight throughout the day. The direction solar panels should face is true south a k a. However solar panels can be orientated on any roof that faces south of either east or west. Solar south or geographic south.

However you would want to face your solar panels in the opposite direction of where your shadows face. So what direction should solar panels face. This is a simple tried and true way to. 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.

Since the majority of solar panel owners keep their system on the grid we can split this grouping into simply those who pay for energy based on a tou payment. However the electricity system is not as simple as it sometimes seems and the best direction to face solar panels may actually be west. True south can also be calculated at noon when shadows from vertical objects run north south. If your roof does not face the right direction then surface mounted panels or pole mounted panels may be your best bet.

Joshua rhodes a postdoctoral research fellow in the webber energy group and the energy institute at the university. Solar panels should face south for any home in america to obtain maximum power generation. Five or six years ago the question of which direction solar panels should face was easy. The most optimum direction to face your solar panels is somewhere between south and west.

Net energy metering and time of use. On the other hand if you live in the southern hemisphere you can use this same technique. The direction that your solar panels face is ultimately dependent on whether or not your system is connected through net energy metering nem and under a time of use tou payment structure. To correct the compass reading your solar installer will calculate the magnetic declination of your site.