What Direction Should Solar Panels Face In Southern California

However there is a difference between magnetic south and true south that must be considered.

What direction should solar panels face in southern california.

The ideal direction that solar panels must face changes depending on whether you live in the northern hemisphere or the southern hemisphere. Changing the direction of your solar panels in california throughout the year. However the electricity system is not as simple as it sometimes seems and the best direction to face solar panels may actually be west. Solar south or geographic south.

It s not a good idea to install your panels to face a suboptimal direction even if it means the best tilt possible. The direction solar panels should face is true south a k a. For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south. Once again this is if you do not have any auto adjusting or pivoting solar panels which change their angle throughout the year or during the day.

The angle is based on your latitude minus 15 degrees. It is at this location that your panels will receive the maximum sunlight throughout the day. Usually this is the best direction because solar panels will receive direct light throughout the day. In the northern hemisphere panels must face south and.

In the northern hemisphere the general rule for solar panel placement is solar panels should face true south and in the southern true north. A solar panel tilt of 19 degrees will work best in los angeles. 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. To correct the compass reading your solar installer will calculate the magnetic declination of your site.

This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere. You can still have an effective solar installation with arrays facing east or west but may need to install a larger system to meet the same amount of electricity production that a southern facing array would have. For example with this logic in the bay area near san francisco you would want to tilt solar panels at 22 or 23 degrees.