Locating the best direction to point your solar panels can be accomplished very quickly.
Solar panel fixing direction.
True south can also be calculated at noon when shadows from vertical objects run north south.
Ground mounted solar panels can even be placed on trackers which adjust the position of the panels throughout the year in order to maximize the amount of sunlight reaching them.
Ensuring that solar panels face the correct direction and have an appropriate tilt will help ensure that they produce maximum energy as they are exposed to the highest.
Watch this interesting video on how robots pivot solar panels to face the sun.
Researchers are working on ways for solar panels to achieve maximum energy output without difficult and or costly manual adjustments.
If ground or wall mounted panels don t work for you solar panels can also be mounted on a building near your house like your garage or a storage shed.
Pick the right location and solar panel direction.
The direction solar panels should face is true south a k a.
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.
If you are looking to achieve cost savings by installing your own solar power system it is highly recommended that you put some time aside and carefully analyze and determine the the right location for your solar.
This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere.
Here two simple methods for calculating approximate solar panel angle according to your latitude.
Another simple method is to look at your house on.
Calculating the optimal solar panel angle.
To correct the compass reading your solar installer will calculate the magnetic declination of your site.
As a rule of thumb solar panels should be more vertical during winter to gain most of the low winter sun and more tilted during summer to maximize the output.
South facing panels produced a 54 percent peak reduction overall while west facing solar pv panels produced a 65 percent peak reduction.
Other technological advancements for solar panel direction.
Solar south or geographic south.
You could use tools if you wanted to but you can just as quickly figure it out with none at all.
For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south.
The placement and orientation of solar panels is just as important as which type of solar panel is used in a given situation.
A solar panel will harness the most power when the sun s rays hit its surface perpendicularly.
However it has been proven that west facing solar panels can produce more power.