Do Solar Panels Need To Face North

North is the only direction that we don t want to put panels on.

Do solar panels need to face north. 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. West facing solar panels get less sun than those that face south but it s not as little as you may think. 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. We built a model of a generic solar panel and calculated its output for every possible placement including orientation like the face of a clock with 12 as north and 6 as south and tilt from 0.

Panels will even produce some electricity on cloudy days when you don t see an ounce of sunshine. Installing panels that face north is not recommended since it results in the lowest electricity output. Solar panels convert light into dc electricity. The more sunlight reaches your solar panels the more electricity you can generate and the more money you ll be able to save on your electric bill.

The sun doesn t have to be beaming directly on the panels at the perfect angle to work. 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. In general there s one big rule. Over the last few years we have created the first online solar production calculator that works out the exact solar production that you will get for your home based on the direction and.

Net energy metering and time of use. 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. The flatter the roof the less solar energy production falls when panels face east or west rather than south.

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 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. In locations that are not far to the north such as florida or texas solar panels do not need a drastic tilt. Solar panels that face north west will produce around 5 less electricity overall than.

Or elsewhere in the northern hemisphere the best direction for solar panels to face is true south though there is an exception. If you re in the u s. As you move farther to the north the sun has a lower position in the sky and solar panels must be tilted more.