Best Roof Pitch For Solar Panels

Solar contractors recommend using the latitude of your home s location as the degree of tilt.

Best roof pitch for solar panels.

Pitch the slope of your roof isn t as important as the orientation but it can affect your solar energy output. Ideally a fixed roof mounted solar energy system should be at an angle that is equal to the latitude of the location where it is installed. However pitch angles between 30 and 45 degrees will work well in most situations. At this level the solar panel can lie flat on the roof and get enough sunlight to produce enough electricity.

For example the latitude of los angeles california is 34 degrees so the tilt of your solar panels would be 34 degrees. Metal standing seam metal roofing with standing seams is the best roof type for the installation of solar panels. True south or the geographic south will yield the best results overall. Most roofs have an inclination of 30 to 40 degrees.

Ideally solar panels would be positioned at an angle of 38 in melbourne equal to the latitude angle of the city 37 81. For example in melbourne most houses have a roof pitch of 23 or 28 depending on the style of architecture. If your roof is too steep it makes installation difficult and limits the ability of your panels to perform to their highest potential. Pitch perfect through a number of tests conducted by the solar energy society of alberta it was established that the ideal pitch to install solar panels was at latitude so 51 for calgary and 53 for edmonton.

Many roofs are going to have slopes between 30 and 40 degrees which means that solar panels can lie flush against the roof and produce enough electricity for attractive returns. The standing seams on these roofs make the attachment of the panel array incredibly easy and with easier installation comes a cheaper cost. With solar panels requiring about 15 square feet each you need about 300 square feet of south or west facing roof space to fit 20 panels on your roof. The average us home solar system size is 5 kilowatts or 20 250 watt panels.

If you are trying to install solar panels on a steep roof it may not be possible to place panels at the optimal tilt with traditional racking systems. This particular angle generated the most energy from the test solar panels on a year round basis both with and without snow clearing. Roof design you will most likely be installing the solar panels on your roof which is why you have to take into account the roof pitch too. That s because you ll get way more sunlight hitting the roof thereby converting into way more energy.

But what is the best roof pitch for solar panels. There are several factors in your control when it comes to finding the ideal pitch for your solar panels. In most places the ideal power generation angle is 30 40 degrees.