Solar Panels On South Facing Roof

Debating on a having part of my solar panels 6 out of 20 facing west to catch some sun in the winter or b am i better off making more sun all facing south and banking that extra power made in a partial credit from the electric company for use in the winter time.

Solar panels on south facing roof.

Panels mounted on a standard pitch roof facing east or west will produce approximately 15 less output than panels mounted on a south facing roof of a standard pitch. We also took at look at a tilt angle of 40 for the south facing orientations mainly just to show that a south facing roof with a steep pitch is probably not a good place for solar panels. As we re in the northern hemisphere the best solar panel orientation is obviously south but. What happens if your roof isn t facing south.

Solar panels perform at their best when the sun is shining straight on to the panels. Let s walk you through an average day august 6th to be exact. 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. Adding modules on the north side of the roof will not add much bang for the customer s solar buck and would qualify as solar malpractice in my book.

Your solar panel orientation is very important when it comes to maximising the amount of electricity that your solar panels will produce. However the economics of installing solar panels on a roof that does not face the south still usually stack up for the homeowner. An ideal south facing roof here is pitched at 7 12 39ish degrees and the north side of that roof will produce less than half as much electricity. North facing panels on the other hand generally produce.

Do you have to have a south facing roof to have solar panels. The closer to horizontal the better it will be for solar. The results backed us up on this theory showing poor. When the sun shines onto the surface at an angle the panel will still generate electricity but it will be less effective.

The sun rises at 5 52 am and begins directly shining on the south facing panels at 8 15. In the uk south facing panels will generate more than other orientations. The diagram shows how the sun passes over a house with solar panels on the south and west facing roof surfaces. In sydney south facing solar panels will typically produce around 28 less energy than north facing panels and the steeper the roof the less.

Why orientation matters with rooftop solar. Even with this decrease in performance solar panels will produce enough electricity to save you hundreds of dollars a year. Hi i live in hawaii 96740 and have a south facing roof. The flatter a south facing roof is i e.