To get the best out of your photovoltaic panels you need to angle them towards the sun.
Efficiency of solar panels angle.
A comparison of data in two us cities has been completed to exhibit the importance of a solar pv array s tilt angle.
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.
For instance if your latitude is 34 the optimum tilt angle for your solar panels during winter will be 34 15 49.
Let s start with two key terms.
The effect of an array s tilt angle on solar pv energy output may be up to 20 compared to that of flat installations.
This solar angle calculator tells you the optimum angle to get the best out of your system.
Elevation angle and azimuth angle commonly shortened to angle and azimuth for brevity.
Today we re going to explain how to mount your solar panels to get the most energy from them.
For los angeles a solar panel tilt of 19 degrees works the best.
The angle of your roof actually has less impact on solar panel performance than the direction your solar energy system faces.
Orientation of the panels.
The optimum tilt angle is calculated by adding 15 degrees to your latitude during winter and subtracting 15 degrees from your latitude during summer.
Welcome to another entry in our ongoing solar 101 series.
The summer optimum tilt angle on the other hand will be 34 15 19.
It turns out that you can do better than this about 4 better.
Regardless of where you live or the tilt of your roof adopting solar power provides significant savings.
The vertical tilt of your panels.
The efficiency of the solar cells used in a photovoltaic system in combination with latitude and climate determines the annual energy output of the system for example a solar panel with 20 efficiency and an area of 1 m 2 will produce 200.
Solar cell efficiency refers to the portion of energy in the form of sunlight that can be converted via photovoltaics into electricity by the solar cell.
Books and articles on solar energy often give the advice that the tilt should be equal to your latitude plus 15 degrees in winter or minus 15 degrees in summer.
These angles will give you the best overall output over the course of the year if you re going for a fixed installation.
The optimum angle varies throughout the year depending on the seasons and your location and this calculator shows the difference in sun height on a month by month.
This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere.
For instance in the san francisco bay area the best solar panel tilt angle is between 22 23 degrees.
In this way at noon the panels will be perfectly perpendicular to the sun s rays.
For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south.