Solar Stats For Roof Positioning And Angle

Optimal electricity production occurs when solar panels face south at a tilt equal to 30.

Solar stats for roof positioning and angle.

Most roofs have an inclination of 30 to 40 degrees. By tilting your solar panels the same angle as the latitude of your home which means pointing your panels at that average position you are ensuring that you will get the maximum average output from your solar system throughout the year. However even if you lower the tilt of your roof all the way down to 5 production only decreases by about 10 percent. The angle of your roof actually has less impact on solar panel performance than the direction your solar energy system faces.

For spring and fall multiply your latitude by 0 98 and subtract 2 3 degrees. Trackers are structures which hold the solar panels in order to move and or tilt them according to the position of the sun. They cannot be mounted on a slanted roof. If you do plan to optimize solar collection in every season use the following calculations.

In case the roof is very steep you may not be able to get the most optimal tilt angle for the panel especially if it is lower than the angle of the roof. At this level the solar panel can lie flat on the roof and get enough sunlight to produce enough electricity. While the sun is in a higher position in the sky during the summer and lower position during the winter it has an average position right in between the two seasons.