Which Direction Should Solar Panels Face

Therefore directions like southwest or southeast are fine.

Which direction should solar panels face.

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. True south can also be calculated at noon when shadows from vertical objects run north south. The following is a guest post by dr. The direction solar panels should face is true south a k a.

This is the direction your solar panels should face. This is a simple tried and true way to. So what direction should solar panels face. However solar panels can be orientated on any roof that faces south of either east or west.

Joshua rhodes a postdoctoral research fellow in the webber energy group and the energy institute at the university. 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. 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. Five or six years ago the question of which direction solar panels should face was easy.

It is at this location that your panels will receive the maximum sunlight throughout the day. As you might have guessed the direction your panels face can be a major factor in how much energy your rooftop solar system produces. If your roof does not face the right direction then surface mounted panels or pole mounted panels may be your best bet. On the other hand if you live in the southern hemisphere you can use this same technique.

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. 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. You could even stick a stick in the ground and take note.

Net energy metering and time of use. 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. However you would want to face your solar panels in the opposite direction of where your shadows face. Solar panels should face south for any home in america to obtain maximum power generation.