Solar panels are excellent additions to any home. When you’re thinking about installing solar panels on your home or business, you want to make sure that they will be worth your investment. Fortunately, they’re great for cutting costs and saving money on electricity.
Where you place your solar panels on your home is an important decision that will impact the amount of energy they’ll produce. Your solar panels’ direction and angle will drastically affect their efficiency, resulting in varying savings on electricity bills. It’s important to understand how to place yours so you can reap all the rewards they offer.
What Is the Optimal Orientation for Solar Panels?
The position of your solar panels affects how much energy they collect and store for you to use around your home or business. To get the most out of your solar panels, make sure they face the sun for as long as possible during the day.
For Northern Hemisphere properties, that means your solar panels should face southwards to ensure they get the most direct sunlight throughout the day. Remember to set up your panels and aim south based on the longitude lines on a map rather than the direction of a compass.
Roofs face in all different directions and yours may not face south directly. Solar panels in the U.S. that face east, west or north may not produce as much electricity as those pointing south. However, special mounting options such as solar carports and ground-mounted solar panels are available and enable you to benefit from solar energy.
What is the Ideal Angle for Solar Panels?
Most professional installers position solar panels so sunlight hits at a perpendicular angle, which will provide you with the most energy production and utility bill savings possible. The right angle is determined by your latitude, measuring your distance from the equator and increasing the tilt the farther away you are. For most U.S. property owners, solar panels generally have a 30- to 45-degree angle.
The best angle often changes due to weather, seasons and the slope of your roof. Some people opt to adjust their panels throughout the year, allowing them to maximize their production rates, while others find one angle that provides suitable output throughout the year.
Install Your Solar Panels Today
At 8MSolar LLC, we create and install solar panels designed to save you money for decades to come. Our experts will help you find the optimal orientation of your solar panels to ensure you’re capitalizing on your investment. If you have any questions about solar panel direction and angles, contact our team today!
