Why Solar Panels Face South

The sun moves in the sky from east to west each day but it isn t straight overhead unless you are on the equator.

Why solar panels face 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 general solar panels that are oriented directly east or directly west will produce about 20 percent less electricity than if they were facing south. If you are charged a tou electricity tariff you can take advantage of this. 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.

In any pv system related project we tend to set up solar panels to face the solar south rather than the magnetic south. Face panels south for non tou ratepayers. A solar power system facing south will produce more kilowatt hours than an identical system facing west. 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.

It has a southern offset especially in the winter when the sun is lower in the sky. The sun doesn t have to be beaming directly on the panels at the perfect angle. Even with this decrease in performance solar panels will produce enough electricity to save you hundreds of dollars a year. We re not concerned with the magnetic poles just where the sun is.

Solar panels convert light into dc electricity. South facing panels produced a 54 percent peak reduction overall while west facing solar pv panels produced a 65 percent peak reduction. West facing solar panels get less sun than those that face south but it s not as little as you may think. As previously mentioned solar panels become more productive in the afternoon if they face west.

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. 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. 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. Does my house have to face south for solar to work.

It turns out that the best fixed position for. Why orientation matters with rooftop solar. The short answer is no. We can install panels on south east or west facing roofs.