Solar Panel Efficiency North Facing

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Solar panel efficiency north facing.

North facing panels on the other hand generally produce much less energy than south facing panels and usually present challenges for homeowners looking to go solar as panels installed on these roofs will not produce enough to make financial sense. But we wanted to ask how bad is it to put solar panels on a north facing roof. In general west is second best because many places get early morning haze or fog which can reduce the power production of your panels. In boston a solar array at 30 degrees south is still going to produce more electricity than tilted at 42 degrees and facing north.

The highest efficiency solar panels on the market today can reach almost 23 percent efficiency. Usually this is the best direction because solar panels will receive direct light throughout the day. West facing solar panels will also prepare you if your utility ever switched to time of use tou billing because they. If you have the option to place the panels in more of a north east or north west direction it is recommended.

We designed and modeled the system in helioscope our sales and design software platform. In the northern hemisphere the general rule for solar panel placement is solar panels should face true south and in the southern true north. Their electricity production through the day will be between that of north and facing panels and that of west facing panels. 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 average efficiency of solar panels falls between the 17 to 19 percent efficiency range. With a 2 12 pitched roof 9 5 tilt the south facing. How much worse are north facing solar modules. Solar panels have been consistently increasing in efficiency at about 5 annually since 2010.

Depending on your location and roof pitch you re going to lose somewhere between 10 20 efficiency as a result of not having panels facing in a due north direction. Solar panels that face north west will produce around 5 less electricity overall than north facing panels. That goes double if you get any fog or mist in the morning which will reduce the efficiency of the east facing panels. However there is a difference between magnetic south and true south that must be considered.

Options for properties with north facing roofs. However the economics of installing solar panels on a roof that does not face the south still usually stack up for the homeowner. Factors that affect solar panel efficiency.