Do Solar Panels Need To Face North

Do you have to have a south facing roof to have solar panels.

Do solar panels need to face north.

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. We are looking at installing a 5kw system lg neon 2 panels and fornius inverter on a double storey house and had initially thought of splitting the panels between our north east and west facing roofs so that we got production over most of the day 8 panels north 4 east and 4 west. However because of the reduction in the total amount of electricity generated compared to north facing panels the increase in self consumption that will result will need to be considerable to make west facing solar panels worthwhile. West facing solar panels get less sun than those that face south but it s not as little as you may think.

The direction that your solar panels face is ultimately dependent on whether or not your system is connected through net energy metering nem and under a time of use tou payment structure. 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. The steeper it is the more it is an issue. If you re in the u s.

In any pv system related project we tend to set up solar panels to face the solar south rather than the magnetic south. This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere. Panels will even produce some electricity on cloudy days when you don t see an ounce of sunshine. Net energy metering and time of use.

Solar panels convert light into dc electricity. 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 sun doesn t have to be beaming directly on the panels at the perfect angle to work. I would be grateful for any thoughts suggestions on the direction to face solar panels.

The flatter the roof the less solar energy production falls when panels face east or west rather than south. For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south. Since the majority of solar panel owners keep their system on the grid we can split this grouping into simply those who pay for energy based on a tou payment. North is the only direction that we don t want to put panels on.

Or elsewhere in the northern hemisphere the best direction for solar panels to face is true south though there is an exception. Solar panels that face north west will produce around 5 less electricity overall than. In general there s one big rule. When the sun shines onto the surface at an angle the panel will still generate electricity but it will be less effective.

In the uk south facing panels will generate more than other orientations.