Solar Panel Angle For Winter

For a precise method use the second formula on this page to calculate tilt angle.

Solar panel angle for winter.

In this way at noon the panels will be perfectly perpendicular to the sun s rays. In the spring summer and autumn the efficiency is lower 74 75 in spring autumn and 68 74 in summer because in these seasons the sun travels a larger area of the sky and a fixed panel can t capture as much of it. The same latitude of 35 would have a tilt angle of 59 6 for winter and 7 1 for summer. For instance in the san francisco bay area the best solar panel tilt angle is between 22 23 degrees.

The optimum tilt angle is calculated by adding 15 degrees to your latitude during winter and subtracting 15 degrees from your latitude during summer. To get maximum energy efficiency during the winter solstice the solar panels in chicago must face south and be tilted 65 90 25. If you have the opportunity to adjust your photovoltaic panels throughout the year you will benefit from having the optimum performance from your solar system all of the time. An additional 3 5 though can be gained by evaluating this more carefully.

At some places as much as a vertical tilt of the panels is needed to get the maximum output during wintertime. If you want to improve your winter performance you would angle your photovoltaic panels towards the winter months in order to get the best performance at that time of year. Solar panels should always face true south in the northern hemisphere north in the southern hemisphere tilted from the hoizontal at a degree equal to your latitude plus 15 degrees in winter or minus 15 degrees in summer. In winter a panel fixed at the winter angle will be relatively efficient capturing 81 to 88 percent of the energy compared to optimum tracking.

During winter the sun is lower and to catch more of its light the best solar panel angle would be more tilted. However installing panels at angles of around 15 degrees or less can backfire as snow won t easily fall off of your array. In general a steeper slope is preferable during the summer as the sun will be higher in the sky. The result for chicago is 90 42 23 25.

To lean toward more production in the winter tilt your panels at your latitude plus 10 15. To lean toward more production in the summer tilt your panels at your latitude minus 10 15. For instance if your latitude is 34 the optimum tilt angle for your solar panels during winter will be 34 15 49. By doing this you are setting up your panels to perform more efficiently in the winter because they will more directly face the sun as it shines from a lower point in the sky.

The summer optimum tilt angle on the other hand will be 34 15 19. To optimize overall production year round tilt your panels at your latitude.