Solar Panels South Facing Roof

Why orientation matters with rooftop solar.

Solar panels south facing roof.

When the sun shines onto the surface at an angle the panel will still generate electricity but it will be less effective. Let s walk you through an average day august 6th to be exact. North facing panels on the other hand generally produce much less energy than south facing panels and usually present challenges for homeowners looking. The closer to horizontal the better it will be for solar.

The diagram shows how the sun passes over a house with solar panels on the south and west facing roof surfaces. In the uk south facing panels will generate more than other orientations. However the economics of installing solar panels on a roof that does not face the south still usually stack up for the homeowner. If you don t have a south facing roof east or west facing panels can also be an option you will typically see only a 20 decrease in energy production from a roof facing due east or west.

The sun rises at 5 52 am and begins directly shining on the south facing panels at 8 15. The flatter a south facing roof is i e. Hi i live in hawaii 96740 and have a south facing roof. 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 results backed us up on this theory showing poor. 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. Even with this decrease in performance solar panels will produce enough electricity to save you hundreds of dollars a year. Do you have to have a south facing roof to have solar panels.