Best Direction For Solar Panels In Florida

The conventional wisdom in the northern hemisphere is that the best direction to face solar panels is south since that is generally where they d receive the most sunlight.

Best direction for solar panels in florida. Solar panels should face south for any home in america to obtain maximum power generation. The cost per watt of a solar pv system comes out to about 2 69 resulting in a price of approximately 0 12 per kwh for solar energy in florida. While the angle of your solar panels is important a more important factor in your energy production is going to be the direction your panels face. The rule is that if you live in the southern hemisphere you should point your panels true north and if you live in the northern hemisphere you should point them true south.

If you are in the southern hemisphere then face them north. This is so that you can expose your solar panels to as much light as possible to optimize their energy production. 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. However solar panels can be orientated on any roof that faces south of either east or west.

If the orientation is not optimal it does not matter whether you have the best angle for solar panels. For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south. Orientation is comprised of tilt angle from horizontal and azimuth degrees clockwise from true north. Locating the best direction to point your solar panels can be accomplished very quickly.

Now a compass tells you magnetic north and south but it does not show you true north and south. As of 2018 the current average price for a 5 kilowatt solar energy system in florida is 13 450 not including the 30 percent federal tax credit or any local incentives that are available. Therefore directions like southwest or southeast are fine. This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere.

They all talk about how their solar panels are tilted to the south. However the electricity system is not as simple as it sometimes seems and the best direction to face solar panels may actually be west. Generally speaking the panels should be facing towards the equator. For those who are not part of a tou model with their utility company the direction that you want to face your solar panels is south.

We call this the orientation of the solar panels. It is best to face the panels south as the sun is always in the south within the northern hemisphere.