Fixed Solar Panel Tilt Angle

For fall or spring you can just subtract 2 5 from the latitude.

Fixed solar panel tilt angle.

For example with this logic in the bay area near san francisco you would want to tilt solar panels at 22 or 23 degrees. On the picture below is a easy to understand map. The tilt angle or elevation angle describes the vertical angle of your solar panels. To get the maximum energy efficiency during the summer solstice the solar panels in chicago must face south and be tilted 19 90 71.

If your latitude is between 25 and 50 then the best tilt angle for summer is the latitude times 0 93 minus 21 degrees. An additional 3 5 though can be gained by evaluating this more carefully. 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. If your latitude is outside this range see other situationsbelow.

Showing with clear colored lines what your best solar panel angle will be depending on where on earth you live. Solar panels should face directly into the sun to optimize their output. This table gives some examples. For panels that you will want to use all year and not have to touch once they are installed you will want to install at a solar panel angle optimized for just that.

There s a simple rule of thumb for calculating the best tilt angle for fixed mount solar panels. The angle is based on your latitude minus 15 degrees. Solar panels with a fixed tilt angle. In this way at noon the panels will be perfectly perpendicular to the sun s rays.

Similarly you can calculate the angle for winter by adding 15. It s not a good idea to install your panels to face a suboptimal direction even if it means the best tilt possible. A solar panel tilt of 19 degrees will work best in los angeles. The best tilt angle for winter is the latitude times 0 875 plus 19 2 degrees.

There are two methods for calculating the tilt angle for solar panels. Calculating minimum sun height at noon. In boston a solar array at 30 degrees south is still going to produce more electricity than tilted at 42 degrees and facing north. Both of these angles require latitude degrees.

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