Roof Angle For Solar Panels

If you are trying to install solar panels on a steep roof it may not be possible to place panels at the optimal tilt with traditional racking systems.

Roof angle for solar panels.

Most roofs have an inclination of 30 to 40 degrees. The tilt angle in degrees is used when determining the performance of a solar system. At 90 from true south therefore east and west production can drop to 30. For los angeles a solar panel tilt of 19 degrees works the best.

However even if you lower the tilt of your roof all the way down to 5 production only decreases by about 10 percent. The sun moves across the sky and will be low or high depending on the time of the day and the season. For instance in the san francisco bay area the best solar panel tilt angle is between 22 23 degrees. What s the best angle for solar panels.

The solar radiation that the panels receive is almost the same. These angles will give you the best overall output over the course of the year if you re going for a fixed installation. That s because you ll get way more sunlight hitting the roof thereby converting into way more energy. In case the roof is very steep you may not be able to get the most optimal tilt angle for the panel especially if it is lower than the angle of the roof.

This decline is due to the fact that solar panels during most of the day are exposed to weak and not perpendicular sunlight. However if the panels are turned at an angle greater than 45 compared to true south production begins to decrease significantly. At this level the solar panel can lie flat on the roof and get enough sunlight to produce enough electricity. Solar panels give the highest energy output when they are directly facing the sun.

Many roofs are going to have slopes between 30 and 40 degrees which means that solar panels can lie flush against the roof and produce enough electricity for attractive returns. The angle of your roof actually has less impact on solar panel performance than the direction your solar energy system faces. If the solar system is being ground mounted or tilted up on a flat roof top the tilt angle is also used to determine the row spacing of the array so the front row. Optimal electricity production occurs when solar panels face south at a tilt equal to 30.