Pv Panels On West Facing Roof

Solar panels last for 30 years so you want to install them on a roof that won t have to be replaced soon.

Pv panels on west facing roof.

Put your panels on the west roof and take as much sun as you can in the evenings. If you look back to systems that were built a few years ago you would typically find them facing south says david wedepohl director of communications and markets at the german solar industry association bsw. Time of use tariff schedule as displayed on the reposit first monitoring app. If your panels are west facing you will be producing more power right during the expensive peak times than you would if the panels were east facing.

Depending on your location and roof pitch you re going to lose somewhere between 10 20 efficiency as a result of not having panels facing in a due north direction. According to the concord consortium makers of energy3d solar energy modeling software a home in boston ma with panels that face west would get 80 of the electricity that a house with south facing panels would. Of course you cannot install east west facing solar panels on your roof if it does not already slant in those directions. They would then be in the shade during the first half of the day.

Split your array in two and put half on the east and half on the west although arguably you would get similar results to the above two options. Afternoon peak prices are higher than shoulder or off peak prices at other times. Why orientation matters with rooftop solar 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. If an east west split of solar panels is desired where some panels are facing east and some facing west then normally those panels would be placed on separate strings and a two input inverter would be used.

The optimal roof for a solar installation is south facing west is next best with minimal shading from trees or other buildings. It should also be relatively new. Following on from a recent feature in pv tech power volume 14 here are the five key. You also can mount solar panels on roofs that face east or west on the roof of another building like a barn or garage or on the ground.

If your property faces east or west panels can still generate good yields. One such solution is orienting solar pv panels to the west so that they produce more power in the afternoon during peak load times.