Optimal Angle For Solar Panels In San Diego

Books and articles on solar energy often give the advice that the tilt should be equal to your latitude plus 15 degrees in winter or minus 15 degrees in summer.

Optimal angle for solar panels in san diego.

Orientation of the panels. This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere. Essentially the closer a solar panel is located to the equator the more the panel should be pointing straight up. A general rule for optimal annual energy production is to set the solar panel tilt angle equal to the geographical latitude.

However if the panels are turned at an angle greater than 45 compared to true south production begins to decrease significantly. Books and articles on solar energy often give the advice that the tilt should be equal to your latitude plus 15 degrees in winter or minus 15 degrees in summer. At 90 from true south therefore east and west production can drop to 30. 29 23 98 33 san diego calif.

Here are some different latitude numbers for cities in the state of california. The question is at what angle from horizontal should the panels be tilted. In order to figure out what the best angle to tilt your solar panels you must first figure out your latitude. Latitude in los angeles.

The solar radiation that the panels receive is almost the same. For a latitude over 50 the most ideal angle will end up being approximately 45 degrees. It just depends on where you live. Latitude in san francisco.

As a general rule of thumb keep in mind that the panels need to be more vertical during winter to face the lower sun directly and more tilted towards the ground during summer to face the higher sun. The optimum tilt angle is calculated by adding 15 degrees to your latitude during winter and subtracting 15 degrees from your latitude during summer. Calculating the best solar angle for california. For instance if your latitude is 34 the optimum tilt angle for your solar panels during winter will be 34 15 49.

Calculating the ideal angle for your solar panels is not that difficult. For example if the location of the solar array is at 50 o latitude the optimal tilt angle is also 50 o. Latitude in san diego. It turns out that you can do better than this about 4 better.

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. 32 42 117 10. For a latitude up to 25 take your latitude and multiply it by 0 87. The next question is at what angle from horizontal should the panels be tilted.

For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south.