Solar Panels Should Be Facing

Therefore directions like southwest or southeast are fine.

Solar panels should be facing.

True south can also be calculated at noon when shadows from vertical objects run north south. However solar panels can be orientated on any roof that faces south of either east or west. Solar panels should face south for any home in america to obtain maximum power generation. 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.

Solar south or geographic south. Panels mounted on a standard pitch roof facing east or west will produce approximately 15 less output than panels mounted on a south facing roof of a standard pitch. The most optimum direction to face your solar panels is somewhere between south and west. It is at this location that your panels will receive the maximum sunlight throughout the day.

If you live in the usa or any other country in the northern hemisphere the best direction to face solar panels is south. If your roof does not face the right direction then surface mounted panels or pole mounted panels may be your best bet. This is because for those of us living in the northern hemisphere the sun is always along the southern part of the sky as we complete our yearly orbit around it. The traditional advice is to position solar panels to be south facing.

To correct the compass reading your solar installer will calculate the magnetic declination of your site. This is so that you can expose your solar panels to as much light as possible to optimize their energy production.