What Direction Should Solar Panels Face

Since most sunlight comes from the south this will make your panels more productive.

What direction should solar panels face.

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. Orientation of the panels. The direction solar panels should face is true south a k a.

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. Which way should my solar panels be facing. 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. Five or six years ago the question of which direction solar panels should face was easy.

This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere. If you live in the usa or any other country in the northern hemisphere the best direction to face solar panels is south. So what direction should solar panels face. However solar panels can be orientated on any roof that faces south of either east or west.

To correct the compass reading your solar installer will calculate the magnetic declination of your site. The following is a guest post by dr. Joshua rhodes a postdoctoral research fellow in the webber energy group and the energy institute at the university. Solar south or geographic south.

However if the local power company charges higher prices in the afternoon your panels should face west to maximize the dollar savings. The most optimum direction to face your solar panels is somewhere between south and west. It is at this location that your panels will receive the maximum sunlight throughout the day. For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south.

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. 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.