Why Solar Panels Face South

Dave i think i know south is the best way to orient my solar panels or north if you happen to live in the southern hemisphere but do i want to face them magnetic south or true south dave.

Why solar panels face south.

North is the only direction that we don t want to put panels on. South facing panels produced a 54 percent peak reduction overall while west facing solar pv panels produced a 65 percent peak reduction. The sun moves in the sky from east to west each day but it isn t straight overhead unless you are on the equator. It has a southern offset especially in the winter when the sun is lower in the sky.

West facing solar panels get less sun than those that face south but it s not as little as you may think. Solar panels convert light into dc electricity. A solar power system facing south will produce more kilowatt hours than an identical system facing west. If you are charged a tou electricity tariff you can take advantage of this.

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. It turns out that the best fixed position for. The sun doesn t have to be beaming directly on the panels at the perfect angle. The short answer is no.

Now all of this is very important for utilities and legislators who are in charge of offering incentives for solar power or other measures that could reduce electricity demand at the height of the day. We re not concerned with the magnetic poles just where the sun is. This is so that you can expose your solar panels to as much light as possible to optimize their energy production. Does my house have to face south for solar to work.

Face panels south for non tou ratepayers. Why orientation matters with rooftop solar. As previously mentioned solar panels become more productive in the afternoon if they face west. The direction your panels face is certainly a factor in how much they will generate and closer to south is better but it is only one factor.

We can install panels on south east or west facing roofs. 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. According to the concord consortium makers of energy3d solar energy modeling software a home in boston ma with panels that face west would get 80 of the electricity that a house with south facing panels would. Although doing this only brings about a 3 improvement in energy collection it will be a big deal if your solar array is huge or your extreme condition requires getting as much energy conversion as possible.