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 direction uk.
However there is a difference between magnetic south and true south that must be considered.
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.
However the electricity system is not as simple as it sometimes seems and the best direction to face solar panels may actually be west.
What happens if your roof isn t facing south.
For those who are not part of a tou model with their utility company the direction that you want to face your solar panels is south.
In the northern hemisphere the general rule for solar panel placement is solar panels should face true south and in the southern true north.
For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south.
This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere.
True south can also be calculated at noon when shadows from vertical objects run north south.
Solar south or geographic south.
This is so that you can expose your solar panels to as much light as possible to optimize their energy production.
The solar power industry is being urged to reconsider its approach to installing panels after one of the uk s leading experts professor ralph gottshalg of loughborough university says too many.
Usually this is the best direction because solar panels will receive direct light throughout the day.
Solar panel orientation in the uk your solar panel orientation is very important when it comes to maximising the amount of electricity that your solar panels will produce.
For example a solar panel placed flat onto a west facing wall will produce about half the amount of electricity compared to being placed at a 30 degree angle on a south facing roof.
To correct the compass reading your solar installer will calculate the magnetic declination of your site.