Do Solar Panels Need To Face 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.

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. During times of peak demand which is defined as 3 p m. Solar panels installed on a roof facing southwest or southeast will generally produce about 8 less power than the same panels in the same climate on a south facing roof. The short answer is no.

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. To do this you should point your solar panel west. For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the 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.

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. Does my house have to face south for solar to work. We can install panels on south east or west facing roofs. The sun doesn t have to be beaming directly on the panels at the perfect angle.

North is the only direction that we don t want to put panels on. West facing solar panels get less sun than those that face south but it s not as little as you may think. Solar panels however need to face solar or geographic south which is the direction towards the south pole. It actually facing north east.

In texas s ercot territory 84 percent of electricity in west facing systems was used in the home. However the economics of installing solar panels on a roof that does not face the south still usually stack up for the homeowner. Solar panels convert light into dc electricity. What you are doing is optimizing your energy production for maximum savings with your utility company.

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. I was a little confused as i always thought the panel needed to be facing south. 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. Or you could point the needle north south and face the panels.

Face panels south for non tou ratepayers. When you point your solar panels west you are not maximizing the total amount of energy that is produced. This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere.