Solar Panels Should Face Which Direction

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.

Solar panels should face which direction.

The traditional advice is to position solar panels to be south facing. Solar south or geographic south. However each of the above only considers. Solar panels should face south for any home in america to obtain maximum power generation.

However the electricity system is not as simple as it sometimes seems and the best direction to face solar panels may actually be west. 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. This is so that you can expose your solar panels to as much light as possible to optimize their energy production. 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.

The direction solar panels should face is true south a k a. The most optimum direction to face your solar panels is somewhere between south and west. This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere. Panels can be placed in multiple directions other than just an east west split.

In darwin south facing panels only produce about 15 less electricity overall than north facing panels but as the northern territory still has a high feed in tariff the most cost effective direction to face solar modules is north. To correct the compass reading your solar installer will calculate the magnetic declination of your site. However solar panels can be orientated on any roof that faces south of either east or west. It is at this location that your panels will receive the maximum sunlight throughout the day.

For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south. True south can also be calculated at noon when shadows from vertical objects run north south. Recently the new york times and popular science even purported that solar panels should face west rather than south to avoid unintended consequences. If your roof does not face the right direction then surface mounted panels or pole mounted panels may be your best bet.

If a solar power system will be mostly responsible running refrigeration and air conditioning equipment in a hot climate the panels should be tilted to your latitude minus 10 degrees.