Optimal Orietation For Annual Collection Solar Panel

A solar panel and orientation of the panel relative to the sun.

Optimal orietation for annual collection solar panel.

The best angle and orientation for solar panels in the uk the angle and orientation of your roof is a significant factor when considering installing solar panels. Essentially the closer a solar panel is located to the equator the more the panel should be pointing straight up. Here two simple methods for calculating approximate solar panel angle according to your latitude. Pvwatts uses typical year meteorology from each station which is relevant since the data have considerable inter annual variability.

What angle for solar panels should be chosen to maximize the production all year long. This advice applies to any type of panel that gets energy from the sun. For example in the u s solar output during the lowest 10th percentile solar output. During the spring the best angle is 45 and during the summer when the sun is high in the sky it s best to have a low tilt at 20.

Calculating the optimal solar panel angle. For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south. Photovoltaic solar hot water etc. Orientation of the panels.

Solar panel orientation and elevation. This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere. As a rule of thumb solar panels should be more vertical during winter to gain most of the low winter sun and more tilted during summer to maximize the output. 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.

Since you can t export your surplus solar electricity for a feed in tariff it makes sense to optimise the tilt to match your consumption. Contrary to the typical rule of thumb a south facing latitude tilted collector is not the optimal orientation of a fixed tilt solar collector. A general rule for optimal annual energy production is to set the solar panel tilt angle equal to the geographical latitude. This page is designed to help you find the best placement for your solar panels in your situation.

Tilting panels at say 40 degrees will give a much more consistent solar output through the year than tilting at the angle of optimal annual output which is 24 degrees. Alternatively the maps below present annual optimal solar collector altitude and azimuth angles and average incident radiation on a surface oriented at the optimal tilt. For example if the location of the solar array is at 50 o latitude the optimal tilt angle is also 50 o. In this case for the solar panels to get their best performance a steep angle of 60 is best.

We assume that the panel is fixed or has a tilt that can be adjusted seasonally.