The direction solar panels should ideally face for optimum sun exposure varies depending on location.
Best orientation for solar panels in australia.
The sun is in a different place in the sky and solar panels should face it as squarely as is reasonably possible throughout the day.
This page is designed to help you find the best placement for your solar panels in your situation.
For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south.
This solar angle calculator tells you by location the optimum angle to get the best out of your system.
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.
Solar panels are installed differently based on their geographic locations throughout the world.
This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere.
This table shows you how much energy you can expect to get from almost any combination of solar panel direction and angle in the capital cities compared to the optimum orientation.
Since most of the sun in the southern hemisphere comes at us from the north the ideal orientation for solar panels in australia is as close to true north as possible.
In this case for the solar panels to get their best performance a steep angle of 60 is best.
What angle and orientation are best for solar panels in australia.
During the winter in the northern hemisphere for example the sun is low in relation to the horizon.
The tilt of the panels is important because your panels will produce a maximum of energy when the sun is directly perpendicular to them.
After finding the best place to install your solar panels your installer will select the ideal tilt.
To get the best out of your photovoltaic panels you need to angle them towards the sun.
The premise behind this is simple.
The optimum angle varies throughout the year depending on the seasons and your location.
For australia solar power yields are higher when panels face north in fact all southern hemisphere locations should ideally position panels in a northerly direction.
But there are a number of variables in figuring out the best direction.
The effect of orientation on solar output.
The shed on which we are intending to put the solar panels can be orientated in any direction but we have been given conflicting advice in that one supplier advised us that the best orientation is to have the panels east west facing due to our power needs being more in the morning and late afternoon and others advising north would be best.
Even small deviations from this direction can reduce a system s efficiency by as much as 15 so this is an important consideration.
For most people in australia the direction you want your solar panels to face is true north and with between 20 50 degrees of tilt depending on how southern or northern you are.
Which direction should solar panels face.