Which Way Does Solar Panels Face

Does my house have to face south for solar to work.

Which way does solar panels face.

The most optimum direction to face your solar panels is somewhere between south and west. To correct the compass reading your solar installer will calculate the magnetic declination of your site. The short answer is no. The following is a guest post by dr.

For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south. So what direction should solar panels face. It is at this location that your panels will receive the maximum sunlight throughout the day. Installing panels that face north is not recommended since it results in the lowest electricity output.

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. Don t let them install solar panels on a north facing roof. 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. Solar panels convert light into dc electricity.

We can install panels on south east or west facing roofs. 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. For example in brisbane if your panels are facing west 270 and are angled 20 from horizontal you will get 89 of the energy compared to the optimum orentation of north and 30. North is the only direction that we don t want to put panels on.

Other solar power posts you may like. Solar south or geographic south. Net energy metering and time of use. As you might have guessed the direction your panels face can be a major factor in how much energy your rooftop solar system produces.

The sun doesn t have to be beaming directly on the panels at the perfect angle. True south can also be calculated at noon when shadows from vertical objects run north south. For most people in australia the direction you want your solar panels to face is true north and with between 20 50 degrees of tilt depending on how southern or northern you are. This table shows you how much energy you can expect to get from almost any combination of solar panel direction and angle in the capital cities compared to the optimum orientation.

Since the sun rises in the east solar panels facing in that direction are more productive in the morning. On the other hand west facing panels are more productive in the afternoon since the sun sets in that direction. If your roof does not face the right direction then surface mounted panels or pole mounted panels may be your best bet. 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.

Another simple method is to look at your house on.