Solar Panels On South Facing 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.

Solar panels on south facing wall. Also there will be more risk of shade on the wall. But what if you don t have a suitable south facing roof. 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. However solar panels can be orientated on any roof that faces south of either east or west.

Here are simulations for roof at 30 degrees facing south and mounted vertically on wall facing south. 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. Both options are for 14x300w panels and otherwise identical. 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. 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. Go west young one. The same installation with vertical solar panels however will produce 4 173 kwh each year a drop of 32 in yearly production.

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. 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. Well when it comes to solar panels west is second best.

See the chart below for a production breakdown. Updated may 18 2020. More energy can be captured. There are a number of other benefits included as well.

In philadelphia the annual production would be decreased by 33 still significant but easier to justify. While they do not produce as much as their roof or ground mounted counterparts vertical panels are easier to maintain in some rights. As the solar panel is now mounted on the wall it can absorb sunlight reflected off of the wall. Arctic solar ventures of anchorage alaska regularly installs solar panels on south facing walls of buildings.

Solar panels should face south for any home in america to obtain maximum power generation.