Calculating the ideal angle for your solar panels is not that difficult.
Optimal angle for solar panels in san diego.
Latitude in san diego.
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 next question is at what angle from horizontal should the panels be tilted.
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.
For a latitude between 25 to 50 take your latitude multiply by 0 87 after that you will add 3 1 degrees.
The optimum tilt angle is calculated by adding 15 degrees to your latitude during winter and subtracting 15 degrees from your latitude during summer.
For the best results solar panels should be oriented towards the south.
For instance if your latitude is 34 the optimum tilt angle for your solar panels during winter will be 34 15 49.
Calculating the best solar angle for california.
29 23 98 33 san diego calif.
The question is at what angle from horizontal should the panels be tilted.
The solar radiation that the panels receive is almost the same.
It turns out that you can do better than this about 4 better.
For a latitude up to 25 take your latitude and multiply it by 0 87.
Essentially the closer a solar panel is located to the equator the more the panel should be pointing straight up.
It just depends on where you live.
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.
This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere.
Here are some different latitude numbers for cities in the state of california.
At 90 from true south therefore east and west production can drop to 30.
Orientation of the panels.
Latitude in los angeles.
The summer optimum tilt angle on the other hand will be 34 15 19.
In order to figure out what the best angle to tilt your solar panels you must first figure out your latitude.
A general rule for optimal annual energy production is to set the solar panel tilt angle equal to the geographical latitude.
For a latitude over 50 the most ideal angle will end up being approximately 45 degrees.
32 42 117 10.
It turns out that you can do better than this about 4 better.
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.
