Is it still worth investigating solar panels.
Solar panels south west facing roof.
If the panels face west instead they get more energy during the afternoon an evening.
The simple answer to these is yes but read on for the facts and figures.
And can the feed in tariff still pay enough to be worth it.
Why orientation matters with rooftop solar.
But in the far north the difference is not so great and in townsville south facing solar panels will only produce around 17 less electricity in total than north facing ones.
Solar panels perform at their best when the sun is shining straight on to the panels.
Even with this decrease in performance solar panels will produce enough electricity to save you hundreds of dollars a year.
What if your roof faces straight west.
In general solar panels that are oriented directly east or directly west will produce about 20 percent less electricity than if they were facing south.
Recently however there has been much discussion and even incentives being offered for orienting pv systems west.
Solar panels work best when they re directly facing the sun and the sun sheds the most light during the middle of the day when it s to the north of australia.
Do you have to have a south facing roof to have solar panels.
For years homeowners who bought solar panels were advised to mount them on the roof facing south.
In contrast a north southern hemisphere facing roof gets sunshine from dawn to dusk.
When the sun shines onto the surface at an angle the.
In winter when the sun is at an angle less than the pitch of the roof the panels will receive no sunlight.
That captures the most solar energy over the course of the day which benefits the homeowner but.
The conventional wisdom says no solar should never be installed on a south facing roof.
This is especially true if you partake in nv energy s time of use tou plan which charges much more for energy between 2 and 7 pm when the sun is in the western sky.
Generally any panels that aren t south facing should face west because the available sun at sunset is more valuable to the grid.
Within the solar industry it s common knowledge that the optimal orientation of solar photovoltaic pv panels in the northern hemisphere is typically south to maximize electricity production over the life of the system.
On a south facing roof the panels produce energy when the sun is high in the sky but as the evening sets in that production decreases.
In sydney south facing solar panels will typically produce around 28 less energy than north facing panels and the steeper the roof the less electricity they will produce.