Roof Orientation For Solar Panels

Go west young one.

Roof orientation for solar panels.

However solar panels can be orientated on any roof that faces south of either east or west. The size of solar panels makes them well suited to be installed vertically on most roofs. In summary here are the roof factors that affect your home solar panel performance. The sun s movements throughout the day.

In general solar panels that are oriented directly east or directly west will produce about 20 percent less electricity than if they were facing south. A roof slope that angles between 15 40 degrees should suffice for most solar power systems. Orientation of the panels. The amount of energy each solar panel produces will be directly reduced by the amount of shade covering each panel so less shade is always better.

But not everyone has a perfectly oriented roof. When your two best options are east or west which should you choose. But what if you don t have a suitable south facing roof. Since residential solar s infancy just two decades ago conventional wisdom has dictated that the panels face true south since that orientation is thought to provide them with the maximum possible sun exposure throughout the day.

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. Well when it comes to solar panels west is second best. South is best west works well too and a mix is ok too. Even with this decrease in performance solar panels will produce enough electricity to save you hundreds of dollars a year.

Why orientation matters with rooftop solar. This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere. As we have mentioned before in the southern hemisphere due north is usually the best orientation for panels. Therefore directions like southwest or southeast are fine.

The amount of sunlight the roof gets could also impact the direction in which they are placed. Individual solar panels can also be adjusted to an optimal angle that maximizes their sun exposure. If the roof is not a feasible location panels and arrays may be mounted on other structures such as garages carports or sheds or ground mounted racks. Your solar panel installers can help determine if your roof slope is suitable for solar panel installation.

Regardless of the orientation experts note that it is more efficient to have a consecutive block of solar panels installed using the same orientation either vertical or horizontal. In the northern hemisphere the sun crosses the sky a little to the south which means putting solar panels on a south facing roof is the best way for homeowners to capture the most solar energy. The solar assessor shall identify the orientation azimuth of the proposed array location and show the orientation on the site and roof plans.