Why Should Solar Panels Face South

In the northern hemisphere solar panels should generally face south toward the sun.

Why should solar panels face south.

If you re in the u s. The more sunlight reaches your solar panels the more electricity you can generate and the more money you ll be able to save on your electric bill. In texas the current structure of compensating for the energy produced by solar panels incentivizes south facing panels. Face panels south for non tou ratepayers for those who are not part of a tou model with their utility company the direction that you want to face your solar panels is south.

Each solar panel must be exposed to direct sunlight to produce the most electricity. During the summer the sun is higher up in the sky but it s still on the south side. This is due to our location in the northern hemisphere and the fact that the sun is in the southern sky year round in our location. We re not concerned with the magnetic poles just where the sun is.

Solar panels depend on light from the sky to make electricity and facing them in the right direction will allow your panels to produce the most power at the most important times. For years homeowners who bought solar panels were advised to mount them on the roof facing south. This is so that you can expose your solar panels to as much light as possible to optimize their energy production. This fact was further emphasized by the 1991 disney film beauty and the beast when céline dion and peabo bryson sang the lines certain as the sun rising in the east.

South facing panels are definitely the best and will produce the most energy. In general there s one big rule. Read on or watch the view below to find out why south is often but not always the best direction. Conventional wisdom in the northern hemisphere is to face solar panels south so they get the most exposure to sunlight during the day.

Many people ask the question why do solar panels face south a fundamental fact many people are aware of is that the sun rises in the east and sets toward the west. You should carefully consider which way to face your solar panels. However what utilities really want are west facing panels to hit peak. The traditional advice is to position solar panels to be south facing.

That captures the most solar energy over the course of the day which benefits the homeowner but.