Solar Panels South Facing Roof

However solar panels can be orientated on any roof that faces south of either east or west.

Solar panels south facing roof.

To correct the compass reading your solar installer will calculate the magnetic declination of your site. Therefore directions like southwest or southeast are fine. The results backed us up on this theory showing poor solar radiation levels for south facing roofs at this steep tilt. If the panels face west instead they get more energy during the afternoon an evening.

In general solar panels that are oriented directly east or directly west will produce about 20 percent less electricity than if they were facing south. True south can also be calculated at noon when shadows from vertical objects run north 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. On a south facing roof the panels produce energy when the sun is high in the sky but as the evening sets in that production decreases.

The flatter a south facing roof is i e. If your panels face due east or west you will loose about 9 over what the south facing panels would provide. The closer to horizontal the better it will be for solar. You can add an extra panel if you have the room to make up the difference.

Why orientation matters with rooftop solar. We also took at look at a tilt angle of 40 for the south facing orientations mainly just to show that a south facing roof with a steep pitch is probably not a good place for solar panels. Solar south or geographic south. For the northern hemisphere south facing roofs will give you the best results from solar panels.

Even with this decrease in performance solar panels will produce enough electricity to save you hundreds of dollars a year.