We therefore need to know during the year the maximum and minimum altitude of the sun at midday in order to discover how many degrees our panels have to be tilted.
Solar panel at 32 degrees lattitude.
2 this seems like a reasonable way to maximise solar electricity output but because days are longer in summer it usually helps to tilt them a few degrees lower to take advantage.
Latitude and longitude can be in deg min sec or decimal degrees entered in the deg field.
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.
However pitch angles between 30 and 45 degrees will work well in most situations.
These angles will give you the best overall output over the course of the year if you re going for a fixed installation.
Here two simple methods for calculating approximate solar panel angle according to your latitude.
Use one of these formulas to find the best angle from the horizontal at which the panel should be tilted.
For instance if your latitude is 45 degrees.
Read off the angle from the left hand y axis that should be used for each month of the year listed on the horizontal axis.
The optimum tilt angle is calculated by adding 15 degrees to your latitude during winter and subtracting 15 degrees from your latitude during summer.
The maximum energy production is achieved at midday when the sun reaches its maximum altitude on the horizon.
Panel angles for latitudes from 70 to 70 negative panel angles indicate that panel is inclined to face north.
Overall the angle of your rooftop has less impact on solar panel performance than the direction your roof faces.
If your latitude is between 25 and 50 use the latitude times 0 76 plus 3 1 degrees.
45 x 0 89 40 05 24 64 05.
As i said earlier the more a solar panel is perpendicular to the sun s rays the more it produces electricity.
For instance in the san francisco bay area the best solar panel tilt angle is between 22 23 degrees.
If your latitude is below 25 use the latitude times 0 87.
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.
Solar panels tilted at an angle equal to the latitude will face exactly midway between the sun s highest point in the sky in summer and its lowest point in winter.
If your latitude is above 50 see other situations below.
If you enter decimal degrees in the degrees field please clear the minutes and seconds fields or they will be added in if you select a city from the pulldown menu the latitude longitude and time zone fields will be filled in by the program.
Ideally a fixed roof mounted solar energy system should be at an angle that is equal to the latitude of the location where it is installed.
