Do Solar Panels Need To Face South

Face panels south for non tou ratepayers.

Do solar panels need to face south.

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. Solar panels however need to face solar or geographic south which is the direction towards the south pole. West facing solar panels get less sun than those that face south but it s not as little as you may think. 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.

We can install panels on south east or west facing roofs. By the same reasoning if the solar panel is located in the southern hemisphere the panel should instead face in the direction of true north. It actually facing north east. The most optimum direction to face your solar panels is somewhere between south and west.

If i was to turn in around on the same bracket it is mounted to it would be facing south to south west. Or you could point the needle north south and face the panels. In texas s ercot territory 84 percent of electricity in west facing systems was used in the home. 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.

Best direction for my panels. If your roof does not face the right direction then surface mounted panels or pole mounted panels may be. For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south. Does my house have to face south for solar to work.

The installer said that he need to point the solar panel north. Solar panels convert light into dc electricity. The short answer is no. In any pv system related project we tend to set up solar panels to face the solar south rather than the magnetic south.

What you are doing is optimizing your energy production for maximum savings with your utility company. If your roof faces slightly off south or even straight east west it is still very likely that solar pv could generate savings and income for you. North is the only direction that we don t want to put panels on. I was a little confused as i always thought the panel needed to be facing south.

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. To do this you should point your solar panel west. When you point your solar panels west you are not maximizing the total amount of energy that is produced. It seems that west facing solar panels would help you to do that to a much greater degree than generally recommend south facing solar panels.

It is at this location that your panels will receive the maximum sunlight throughout the day.