How To Position Solar Panels To The Sun

Usually this is the best direction because solar panels will receive direct light throughout the day.

How to position solar panels to the sun.

In the northern hemisphere the general rule for solar panel placement is solar panels should face true south and in the southern true north. Subtract 15 degrees from the latitude at your location during summer and add 15 degrees to your latitude during winter. The benefit in energy gained by optimum sun tracking has to be weighed against its maintenance and the. However solar panels can be orientated on any roof that faces south of either east or west.

However there is a difference between magnetic south and true south that must be considered. They cannot be mounted on a slanted roof. The traditional advice is to position solar panels to be south facing. Anything more or less than this will reduce efficiency far too much.

Updated may 18 2020. A sun tracking mechanism can be used to maximize the energy collected from solar collectors. Therefore directions like southwest or southeast are fine. Variations in the tilt can make a big difference to efficiency though not as marked as with orientation so strive for somewhere between 20 40º.

Solar panels work best when the light hitting them comes in at a 90º angle so the ideal tilt for australian sun is at 32º. This is the simplest and fastest way to position a solar panel for the best output. For a precise method use the second formula on this page to calculate tilt angle. Solar panels should face south for any home in america to obtain maximum power generation.

Build a simple solar pointer and at solar noon you can point your panel t. This is because for those of us living in the northern hemisphere the sun is always along the southern part of the sky as we complete our yearly orbit around it. Trackers are structures which hold the solar panels in order to move and or tilt them according to the position of the sun. In order to collect energy more efficiently solar panels should be angled to face as close to the sun as possible.

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.