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Solar Panel Direction and installation
Had a couple of visits from companies as we are interested in solar panels
I thought they had to face south
The proposals we have are for panels that face south on a flat roof - and then panels that face west and east on the sloping roof of teh house
To catch the max sunlight - however - would those (west and east) catch that much?
Also - for those with flat roof installs - the proposals we hae are for free standing panels held down by ballast (ie concrete slabs) (means they don't damage teh waterproof membrane) - any experience of this?
Thanks
Full south is best, and your efficiency decreases as you move away from full south. There is an ideal production based on your panels. The ideal is 100% production. If you panels are inclined at around 30% and facing directly south, you'll have 100%. When estimating your production, the estimates should show the percentage of the ideal production based on your situation.
Our installation faces mostly south, about 15 degrees off the ideal facing. Our roof is also sloped at 45° which reduces the ideal. Based on our facing and slope of the roof, our ideal is muliplied by .92 (92%) to give us the expected production for our installation.
I don't have experience with flat roofs, but I would assume that the best solution is to support the panels so they are at a 30° inclination.
