Solar Panels On West Facing Roof

We are looking at installing a 5kw system lg neon 2 panels and fornius inverter on a double storey house and had initially thought of splitting the panels between our north east and west facing roofs so that we got production over most of the day 8 panels north 4 east and 4 west.

Solar panels on west facing roof.

However the economics of installing solar panels on a roof that does not face the south still usually stack up for the homeowner. Let s walk you through an average day august 6th to be exact. You also can mount solar panels on roofs that face east or west on the roof of another building like a barn or garage or on the ground. I get asked this a lot and there isn t really a simple answer.

Panels mounted on a standard pitch roof facing east or west will produce approximately 15 less output than panels mounted on a south facing roof of a standard pitch. Why orientation matters with rooftop solar in general solar panels that are oriented directly east or directly west will produce about 20 percent less electricity than if they were facing south. That captures the most solar energy over the course of the day which benefits the homeowner but. I would be grateful for any thoughts suggestions on the direction to face solar panels.

The diagram shows how the sun passes over a house with solar panels on the south and west facing roof surfaces. For years homeowners who bought solar panels were advised to mount them on the roof facing south.