Do Solar Panels Need To Face North

Or elsewhere in the northern hemisphere the best direction for solar panels to face is true south though there is an exception.

Do solar panels need to face north.

The steeper it is the more it is an issue. The sun doesn t have to be beaming directly on the panels at the perfect angle to work. In the uk south facing panels will generate more than other orientations. Do you have to have a south facing roof to have solar panels.

Solar panels perform at their best when the sun is shining straight on to the panels. Over the last few years we have created the first online solar production calculator that works out the exact solar production that you will get for your home based on the direction and. I would be grateful for any thoughts suggestions on the direction to face solar panels. In locations that are not far to the north such as florida or texas solar panels do not need a drastic tilt.

Solar panels that face north west will produce around 5 less electricity overall than. For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south. 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. Solar panels convert light into dc electricity.

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 panels would. However because of the reduction in the total amount of electricity generated compared to north facing panels the increase in self consumption that will result will need to be considerable to make west facing solar panels worthwhile. Panels will even produce some electricity on cloudy days when you don t see an ounce of sunshine. North is the only direction that we don t want to put panels on.

This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere. The flatter the roof the less solar energy production falls when panels face east or west rather than south. As you move farther to the north the sun has a lower position in the sky and solar panels must be tilted more. The more sunlight reaches your solar panels the more electricity you can generate and the more money you ll be able to save on your electric bill.

In general there s one big rule. When the sun shines onto the surface at an angle the panel will still generate electricity but it will be less effective. 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. West facing solar panels get less sun than those that face south but it s not as little as you may think.

Installing panels that face north is not recommended since it results in the lowest electricity output. 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.