Why Solar Panels Should Face South

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

Why solar panels should face south.

Solar panels do not have to be pointed in just one direction. According to the concord consortium makers of energy3d solar energy modeling software a home in boston ma with panels that face west would get 80 of the electricity that a house with south facing. Solar panels however need to face solar or geographic south which is the direction towards the south pole. True south can also be calculated at noon when shadows from vertical objects run north south.

It has a southern offset especially in the winter when the sun is lower in the sky. What you are doing is optimizing your energy production for maximum savings with your utility company. Why solar panels shouldn t always face south you should carefully consider which way to face your solar panels. Solar south or geographic south.

To do this you should point your solar panel west. A homeowner can buy a device called a tracker that will pivot them over the course of the day like a sunflower so they always face. The optimum placement to maximise generation is to face the panels south but that might not be possible for your property. To correct the compass reading your solar installer will calculate the magnetic declination of your site.

The direction solar panels should face is true south a k a. West facing solar panels get less sun than those that face south but it s not as little as you may think. By the same reasoning if the solar panel is located in the southern hemisphere the panel should instead face in the direction of true north. We ran a few calculations and found that se and sw facing placements can expect to generate around 94 of the electricity a south facing install would.

Face panels south for non tou ratepayers. The sun moves in the sky from east to west each day but it isn t straight overhead unless you are on the equator. It turns out that the best fixed position for. 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.

When you point your solar panels west you are not maximizing the total amount of energy that is produced.