However the economics of installing solar panels on a roof that does not face the south still usually stack up for the homeowner.
Solar panel efficiency north facing.
That goes double if you get any fog or mist in the morning which will reduce the efficiency of the east facing panels.
Jim panels on a south facing roof even laid flat will almost invariably produce more electricity that east facing panels.
North facing panels on the other hand generally produce much less energy than south facing panels and usually present challenges for homeowners looking to go solar as panels installed on these roofs will not produce enough to make financial sense.
The highest efficiency solar panels on the market today can reach almost 23 percent efficiency.
But we wanted to ask how bad is it to put solar panels on a north facing roof.
Their electricity production through the day will be between that of north and facing panels and that of west facing panels.
In boston a solar array at 30 degrees south is still going to produce more electricity than tilted at 42 degrees and facing north.
We start with a typical residential system in charlotte north carolina.
With a 2 12 pitched roof 9 5 tilt the south facing.
However there is a difference between magnetic south and true south that must be considered.
Depending on your location and roof pitch you re going to lose somewhere between 10 20 efficiency as a result of not having panels facing in a due north direction.
Solar panels that face north west will produce around 5 less electricity overall than north facing panels.
We designed and modeled the system in helioscope our sales and design software platform.
Factors that affect solar panel efficiency.
If you have the option to place the panels in more of a north east or north west direction it is recommended.
Usually this is the best direction because solar panels will receive direct light throughout the day.
West facing solar panels will also prepare you if your utility ever switched to time of use tou billing because they.
The best way to find a high quality solar installation is with energysage.
We have a blog about east and west facing solar panels and the basic gist is this.
Solar panels have been consistently increasing in efficiency at about 5 annually since 2010.
How much worse are north facing solar modules.
Options for properties with north facing roofs.
The average efficiency of solar panels falls between the 17 to 19 percent efficiency range.
