Ideal Solar Roof Angle

In summary here are the roof factors that affect your home solar panel performance.

Ideal solar roof angle.

For the vast majority of u s. Since solar panels are more productive when the sun s rays are perpendicular to their surfaces the certainly best orientation is the one directly true south azimuth angle 180. To put this another way you can tilt a roof angle about 45 degrees away from the optimal angle the perpendicular angle to the sun without significantly affecting light transmission. However pitch angles between 30 and 45 degrees will work well in most situations.

Property owners the ideal angle for a solar panel installation is close or equal to the latitude of your home on a south facing roof. To lean toward more production in the summer tilt your panels at your latitude minus 10 15. At this level the solar panel can lie flat on the roof and get enough sunlight to produce enough electricity. On the contrary in the countries of the southern hemisphere such as south africa and australia the best orientation is true north.

Overall the angle of your rooftop has less impact on solar panel performance than the direction your roof faces. Best solar panel angle by zip code. Ideally a fixed roof mounted solar energy system should be at an angle that is equal to the latitude of the location where it is installed. To optimize overall production year round tilt your panels at your latitude.

Significant here means less than an 8 change. These angles will give you the best overall output over the course of the year if you re going for a fixed installation. To lean toward more production in the winter tilt your panels at your latitude plus 10 15. In case the roof is very steep you may not be able to get the most optimal tilt angle for the panel especially if it is lower than the angle of the roof.

Most roofs have an inclination of 30 to 40 degrees. For instance in the san francisco bay area the best solar panel tilt angle is between 22 23 degrees. The ideal roof angle for power generation is about 30 degrees but roofs that are too steep make installation difficult while flat roofs mean that you can set the panels at just the right angle but you ll be paying extra for the required racking.