The south is the best direction for solar panels to look in general. In almost all cases, homeowners will achieve the biggest savings on their electricity bills and a faster payback period by looking their solar panels south in any other direction. As part of this process, 3 installers of your choice will be able to directly follow up on their offers to offer you a final personalized offer. If you just want to get a rough price guide without contacting solar installers, you can check out our solar energy price index.
Determining the orientation and tilt angle of your solar power generation system is one of the most important considerations when designing your solar energy system. As mentioned earlier, in the southern hemisphere, the north is usually the best orientation for panels. But not everyone has a perfectly oriented roof. When your two best options are east or west, which should you choose? Over the course of a day, the Sun crosses the sky forming an arc that varies throughout the year due to the Earth's orbit (see image above).
The arc is always symmetrical from east to west and is measured from the center point, which would be noon. This means that from sunrise to noon (not counting daylight saving time) and from noon to sunset, there are the same number of hours of sunlight in a particular location. You can see how this applies to your location using apps like SunCalc, which shows you exactly how the sun moves across the sky at different times of the day throughout the year. Making the right choice will affect the amount of money you can save with your solar panels.
The first thing to consider is shading, of course, which can have a big impact on the productivity of your system. Are any of the sides of the roof shaded by nearby objects? If one side is shaded, choose the other. See our article on south-facing solar panels. Therefore, you have determined that shading is not a problem and that both sides of the roof have a symmetrical angle.
What are you doing now? Although Australia is known for its unpredictable weather, you'll need to consider when it tends to have cloudy weather more frequently, in the morning or at night. If you have a time-of-use (TOU) electricity rate, you're probably thinking strategically about energy consumption and pricing. Because most homes consume more electricity during the afternoon, when it's more expensive to bill TOU, a western-facing solar panel is probably the best way to save money. Time-of-use fee schedule as shown in the Reposition First monitoring application.
Peak prices in the afternoon are higher than intermediate or off-peak prices at other times. Also keep in mind that household electricity consumption tends to be higher in the middle or late afternoon (read more about electricity consumption patterns). So, even if the price of electricity is the same every hour of the day, you could save more money with west-facing panels, since their production will peak a little later than a set of north-facing panels would. Check out the rest of our calculators in our calculator resource library.
If you haven't already done so, you should consider requesting proposals from several different installation companies (you can get some indicative quotes here). Every installer for whom you receive a quote should be willing to spend time showing you modeled results for each of the scenarios you suggest, so that you have concrete data to work with rather than just speculation. On second thought, I would recommend opting for the north-facing roof as a priority and the western-facing roof as a secondary option, mainly for additional solar production in the afternoon. But don't take our word for it, because, as stated above, you would do yourself the favor of getting quotes from several different installers and, as a reference, you can also explore the numbers yourself with the PVWatts calculator.
First of all, I should note that you probably don't want to increase the size of your system if you currently receive one of Victoria's solar power rates; increasing the size of your system could result in a reduction in your rate if you use the FiT Premium, Transitional, or Standard. You would need to know the details of your situation to resolve it exactly, but this is a yield loss of about 15% per year if you look west rather than north. You can play with the numbers yourself with the PV/Watt calculator if you want. With the panels facing east (or west), the sun will be behind the roof for half the day.
In winter, when the sun is at an angle lower than the roof slope, the panels do NOT receive sunlight. In contrast, a north-facing roof (southern hemisphere) receives sunlight from dawn to dusk. How can an east-facing system produce about 80% of the energy of the same north-facing system, considering that when the Sun is at the best angle for the panels, it's probably far from its highest trajectory and has a lower illuminance? I'm not an expert, I'm just trying to understand. If the matrix is oriented to the east, the panels will receive more direct sunlight from the early hours of the day and will continue to generate energy (although less energy) as long as the sky is bright.
This is why efficiency is only reduced to around 80% instead of 50%. You can play with the numbers yourself with the photovoltaic watt tool from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. UU.
(you can get data from Australia and announcements in the US. UU.). I have an INSTALLED system with 16 panels to the east and 16 panels to the west. Without roof facing north) %3D (180 W x 32): efficiencies.
Every 16 goes to a separate 2K5 inverter (2 inverters). I have traced that the fault was the “initial network tension”. MORE homes in my area are receiving solar panels, which has increased the grid voltage over time, so now it always exceeds 250 volts. The provider says that “it's NOT your problem, it's Western Power's fault.
Since the Western Power Voltage (with the inverters turned off) is within your specifications, how can it be your fault? Graham P.S. Do some inverters STOP increasing their voltage when they are about 259.9 volts instead of starting? It doesn't say so, but is it possible for its voltage to increase on its subline, rather than on the power grid? I find it unlikely that it will be a problem every day, unless you are in a very bad area or have a specific problem. As an alternative to replacing your inverter, I recommend that you contact the inverter manufacturer to see if they can help with further technical support regarding your situation. Regarding the inclination and orientation of the panels, in an ideal world, all panels would be oriented to the north and would be tilted slightly less than the line of latitude.
In Cairns, the optimal inclination for north-facing panels is 16 degrees. If your panels face east or west (or both), you can expect production to drop to around 85%. The other reason your panels may not produce what you expect may be an inverter failure or a problem with the wiring, the installer should be able to check it for you. What the installer has proposed seems like a good solution, what worries me is the number of panels they are selling you.
If you get 2.2 kW from 12 panels, the panels would have between 180 and 190 watts each, which will cost you less, but it's not as efficient as some of the newer panels on the market, which have between 220 and 250 watts. Some installers have a clause in their contract that states that they will relocate the panels free of charge if they don't work at their optimal capacity. If you want to get a second opinion and a review of the market, you can complete our FREE solar energy quote comparison found on the right of the page. This way, you can ensure that you have gotten a good price, that you have been properly advised on the size of the system that best suits your needs and, if not, that you have a selection of locally operating installers to choose from.
I hope it helped you and we look forward to helping you in the future. If you haven't installed the panels yet and want a second opinion, you can complete our FREE solar energy quote comparison, you'll get quotes from up to 7 installers in your area. We look forward to hearing from you. I live in Cleveland, south of Brisbane.
I installed a 4.7 kW system but I don't have exactly what I was quoted. In my house there is no north roof to install the panels, so the price was that the 24 panels were for the western roof, which is where all the companies from which I got quotes recommended. During the installation, they discovered that all the panels did not fit on the western roof and I had to place some in the east. I wasn't too happy, but I verbally agreed only to discover that they had actually installed half of the system on the east side.
It's a divided system, so yes, it will work, but according to my research, it won't be as affective. I wasn't satisfied with the whole result because, at the end of the day, I didn't receive what was quoted and asked for a slight discount. The contractor then came up with electrical jargon that said that it was actually better if the panels were on the east side. What is your opinion? At this time I have not paid the full balance, which means that I have not signed the documentation that will guarantee me the fee of 44 cents.
I've taken a look at the system and it seems like you haven't done anything for ourselves to get your solar energy quotes. If you did this ourselves and used one of our installers, let us know and we may be able to speak to the installer on your behalf regarding the situation. In any case, we would analyze your roof space and determine what size system it could accommodate; if the east side of your roof generated an acceptable volume of energy, we recommend that you install it there, but only if it were an economically viable option. In the first case, we always look for the roof facing north or, in general, west facing in the second.
If the east side of your roof faces east and there is little or no shade, there shouldn't be much of a difference, your installer should have a “performance guarantee”, meaning that if your panels are significantly underperforming, they should come out and move them at no additional cost. It will be part of your contract. Not knowing which installer you used, I can't confirm this, but all of our installers are accredited by the Clean Energy Council, giving our customers the knowledge that the work is being done to a certain standard. There are guidelines on the Clean Energy Council website for consumers that can help you even more.
We hope that you will resolve it soon and you can start enjoying the benefits of photovoltaic solar energy. Therefore, option b) seems to be the best, especially considering that the most expensive electricity rates are charged in the late afternoon if an electricity meter is used “on time”. What capacity do the panels have when they are in total? I suppose they're around 5 kW? Also, do the times you mentioned apply to both summer and winter? Call us at 1300 78 72 73 if you want to continue talking to us. I think the total capacity would be around 4.1kw because the “seller” said he could add another 6 panels to the system later on.
The schedules I mentioned only apply to August, in summer we would benefit from longer days. You can get a free comparison of quotes from installers in your area by completing our quote comparison request form and checking your inbox. We also advise you if you contact us (1300 78 72 7), and our services are 100% free for our customers. Generally speaking, it makes more sense to keep all panels facing north, as this translates into higher overall solar energy performance throughout the day.
The only reasons you could place the panels in the west are if you didn't have the option of installing them on a north-facing roof, if you had shade on the north-facing roof, or if you were really interested in taking advantage of the sun when it sets (some people may do it to protect themselves from paying maximum fees for electricity, but for the most part efficiency losses mean it's not worth it). Do any of these options describe your motivations for the change? Whether you did the right thing also depends on whether your inverter has double inputs for separate chains. I did a quick search but couldn't confirm it. If you only have one input, your system will suffer significant production losses throughout the day because the panels will not receive an equivalent amount of solar radiation; the output of the entire assembly is limited by the “weakest link”.
I hope this cleared things up a bit for you. Feel free to comment again if you have more questions. I have had 2 quotes for my 3 KW system, one company suggested the N-W side and the other the N-E side. I don't have space in the straight ceiling that looks up to N.
You live in an area without a government-sponsored solar power fee, so the important thing for you is to make sure you use all the energy your solar system produces while it's being produced. It's worth more to you if you do this than if you allow it to enter the network. So the main question is whether you're at home and using more energy in the morning or in the afternoon. If you plan to consume a lot of electricity in the morning, having an east-facing system will help you pay your bill.
If you plan to be home in the afternoons, it would be better to have a matrix facing west. A west-facing arrangement would also be good because it would allow you to avoid paying maximum electricity rates, which are higher than morning rates during off-peak hours. Sorry for the delay in responding. While it's possible to add additional capacity to your existing solar system, keep in mind that you may lose your eligibility for the state's power rate, it's best to check the government website for more information.
As far as we know, you can receive the current food rate in your area for the new sizing system. If you decide to continue, you will have to buy an additional inverter for the western panels, since they cannot work with the same inverter. NE would definitely be the preferred choice over SW. South-facing roofs don't get much sunlight in Australia.
The previous article basically tries to say that if you don't have the option of placing your panels on a north-facing roof, the next best option between east and west is generally the west. Most installers would not consider Sur to be a viable option. I love the amount of unbiased information on your site. The west is generally the next best option after the north.
For more information, contact one of our brokers directly by calling us at 1300 78 72 73 or by filling out a solar energy quote comparison request form. Our service is 100% free for our customers. When I read about solar panel technology, I remember that the efficiency of monocrystalline and polycrystalline panels decreases with increasing temperature. Is this also a consideration when making the decision between east and west? I mean, usually the room temperature will be lower in the morning and higher in the afternoon, so the panels would work more efficiently in the morning while they're cooler.
Is this an argument for placing them on the east side instead of the west (assuming that all other considerations are the same, for example, that mornings are not cloudier than afternoons)? You're right that temperature is an important consideration when deciding whether to place your panels on the east or west facing roof. However, for the most part, it's a bit risky in terms of losing efficiency due to overheating and the possibility of morning clouds. As a general rule, neither party will definitely have greater losses than the other. The real deciding factor is the fact that home energy consumption tends to be higher in the afternoon and, therefore, you're likely to get the most out of your panels if they face west, whether you're being paid to power the solar energy to the grid or your home consumes it directly.
This is especially true if you have a time-of-use (TOU) billing plan with peak, intermediate and low-demand rates. Ensuring that customers' solar systems work optimally could be the reason Solar Switch is only installed on roofs facing north or west. This means that you'll often want your solar panels to face southwest or west. Eastern panels that generate electricity during the morning's off-peak hours will be much less valuable.
East-facing panels produce most of the energy in the morning. On the other hand, west-facing panels produce most of the energy at night. By combining east and west facing panels in a single system, you get a high power output from early in the morning until well into the night. This is ideal for people who work away from home during the day.
These people generally need less energy during the day while they are at work and more energy during the morning and night while they are at home. East-West arrays are ideal to meet this pattern of electricity demand. For a similar reason, East-West matrices are very popular among Irish dairy farmers who opt for solar energy. This is because energy-intensive milking equipment is mainly used in the morning and at night.
Although it only works for a brief burst, its energy saving potential can be maximized from the moment the sun rises with an east-facing solar panel. This is why when you have fixed-location solar panels, such as when you have panels attached to the roof, pointing them directly to the south will produce the most electricity generation. In fact, the better the solar panel designs look, the more likely the community at large will adopt clean energy. Don't worry, the orientation of the solar panels facing east and west continues to work brilliantly during the 10 a.m.
period. At 2 p.m. If your panels face west, you will produce more energy during expensive peak hours than if the panels were oriented to the east. When they came to install, without an on-site inspection, 22 Sharp 215W panels with a Clenrgy SP50 inverter, only 18 would fit in my Northside %26 I didn't know that the panels couldn't be divided between North %26 West without a double-track inverter.
The solar panels facing east and west ensure an optimized orientation of the solar panels for these peak hours, maximizing the ability to convert more energy from the available light. While some solar panel owners are paid time-of-use rates and are compensated by the utility company in proportion to the prices of the wholesale power grid, many panel owners are unable to take advantage of the higher value of electricity during peak hours because they are paid a flat rate, they said. energy analysts. .
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