Which Direction Should My House Face For Solar Panels

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

Which direction should my house face for solar panels.

This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere. The pull or magnetic declination will vary in direction and strength depending on your location. The following is a guest post by dr. The most optimum direction to face your solar panels is somewhere between south and west.

As you might have guessed the direction your panels face can be a major factor in how much energy your rooftop solar system produces. 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 sun doesn t have to be beaming directly on the panels at the perfect angle. We can install panels on south east or west facing roofs.

Solar south or geographic south. 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. For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south. This table shows you how much energy you can expect to get from almost any combination of solar panel direction and angle in the capital cities compared to the optimum orientation.

Net energy metering and time of use. Orientation of the panels. Solar panels convert light into dc electricity. The direction solar panels should face is true south a k a.

North is the only direction that we don t want to put panels on. 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. Apart from how much power each panel can produce how many panels you ll need what size and how well they ll work with your rooftop you ll also want to consider the best direction for solar panels to face. If your roof faces east west rather than north south you have a few options.

It is at this location that your panels will receive the maximum sunlight throughout the day. For example in brisbane if your panels are facing west 270 and are angled 20 from horizontal you will get 89 of the energy compared to the optimum orentation of north and 30. If your roof does not face the right direction then surface mounted panels or pole mounted panels may be your best bet. The earth has a fluid outer core made of iron and nickel which pulls the needle of your compass slightly away from true south.

Joshua rhodes a postdoctoral research fellow in the webber energy group and the energy institute at the university. Solar panels facing east or west won t get as much light as those on a northern facing roof.