Solar Panels On North Facing Roof

An ideal south facing roof here is pitched at 7 12 39ish degrees and the north side of that roof will produce less than half as much electricity.

Solar panels on north facing roof.

If you live in a tropical area your solar panels will be to the north or to the south of the sun depending on the season. The direction that your roof faces also referred to as the azimuth angle is the primary factor determining how much sunshine your solar panels will see over the course of the day. In sydney south facing solar panels will typically produce around 28 less energy than north facing panels and the steeper the roof the less electricity they will produce. But on a north facing roof with a shallow pitch say 3 in 12 or 14 production would be 6 234 kwh year or 16 higher though still nearly 25 less than the ideal tilt on a south facing roof.

If you don t have a south facing roof east or west facing panels can also be an option you will typically see only a 20 decrease in energy production from a roof facing due east or west. Solar panels are most effective when installed on south facing roofs. Connect with a solar expert to see if you can take advantage of tou billing or whether you d be better off with panels on a south facing roof. Not discussed here is the case for going solar in the tropics e g.

As an example a roof facing due south in brisbane will receive almost as much sunlight as a north facing roof in hobart. That optimal tilt will make you an estimated 7 732 kwh in a year from 5 5 kw of solar panels. However the economics of installing solar panels on a roof that does not face the south still usually stack up for the homeowner. Adding modules on the north side of the roof will not add much bang for the customer s solar buck and would qualify as solar malpractice in my book.

On a north facing roof at 25 7 that would be 5 362. North facing panels on the other hand generally produce much less energy than south facing panels and usually present challenges for homeowners looking. But in the far north the difference is not so great and in townsville south facing solar panels will only produce around 17 less electricity in total than north facing ones. Don t let them install solar panels on a north facing roof.