Solar Panels On South Facing Wall

But what if you don t have a suitable south facing roof.

Solar panels on south facing wall.

The same installation with vertical solar panels however will produce 4 173 kwh each year a drop of 32 in yearly production. Go west young one. While they do not produce as much as their roof or ground mounted counterparts vertical panels are easier to maintain in some rights. If you have space in your yard the panels can also be mounted on the ground.

Therefore directions like southwest or southeast are fine. Also there will be more risk of shade on the wall. Panels mounted on a standard pitch roof facing east or west will produce approximately 15 less output than panels mounted on a south facing roof of a standard pitch. As the solar panel is now mounted on the wall it can absorb sunlight reflected off of the wall.

However solar panels can be orientated on any roof that faces south of either east or west. In philadelphia the annual production would be decreased by 33 still significant but easier to justify. Solar panels should face south for any home in america to obtain maximum power generation. In the northern hemisphere the sun crosses the sky a little to the south which means putting solar panels on a south facing roof is the best way for homeowners to capture the most solar energy.

Compared to an optimal tilt angle facing south vertically mounted solar panels facing south would suffer a 42 loss in annual production in southwest florida. House south side wall or a south side of a pillar is the second most suitable place to install solar panels. 4258 kwhrs yr on the roof and 3167 kwhrs yr on the wall. More energy can be captured.

Both options are for 14x300w panels and otherwise identical. There are a number of other benefits included as well. This is less expensive and also gives easy access to the panels if you need to clean them brush off snow or do any other maintenance. Although this is more unusual some people choose to mount panels on a south facing wall.

If you don t have an adequate south facing roof but a great south facing wall this is a great solution for you. Arctic solar ventures of anchorage alaska regularly installs solar panels on south facing walls of buildings. See the chart below for a production breakdown. A south facing 5kw installation in minnesota with solar panels at the optimal tilt angle of 45 degrees will produce around 6 148 kwh a year.

Here are simulations for roof at 30 degrees facing south and mounted vertically on wall facing south.