Solar Panel Angle Latitude

These angles will give you the best overall output over the course of the year if you re going for a fixed installation.

Solar panel angle latitude.

For instance in the san francisco bay area the best solar panel tilt angle is between 22 23 degrees. To lean toward more production in the summer tilt your panels at your latitude minus 10 15. The sun s noon angle will vary 23 5 degrees throughout the year being at an angle of 90 latitude at the equinox mar 21 and sept 21 and 23 5 higher than this at the summer solstice jun 21 and 23 5 lower at winter solstice dec 21. The next question is at what angle from horizontal should the panels be tilted.

The summer optimum tilt angle on the other hand will be 34 15 19. The optimum tilt angle is calculated by adding 15 degrees to your latitude during winter and subtracting 15 degrees from your latitude during summer. On the contrary in the countries of the southern hemisphere such as south africa and australia the best orientation is true north. There are two methods for calculating the tilt angle for solar panels.

To lean toward more production in the winter tilt your panels at your latitude plus 10 15. To optimize overall production year round tilt your panels at your latitude. It is simplest to mount your solar panels at a fixed tilt and just leave them there. Whatever your latitude is you can subtract 15 from it to calculate the angle for summer.

For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south. For instance if your latitude. 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. For los angeles a solar panel tilt of 19 degrees works the best.

This variation is a sinusoidal with the average value being the same as the latitude degrees. 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. Find the best angle for optimizing solar collection during winter when solar energy is most scarce by multiplying your latitude by 0 89 and then adding 24 degrees. This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere.

It turns out that you can do better than this about 4 better. Both of these angles require latitude degrees.