The optimum tilt angle is calculated by adding 15 degrees to your latitude during winter and subtracting 15 degrees from your latitude during summer.
Fixed solar panel tilt.
If you can change the angle multiple times a year you may get great output throughout the year.
A solar panel tilt of 19 degrees will work best in los angeles.
Once again this is if you do not have any auto adjusting or pivoting solar panels which change their angle throughout the year or during the day.
The solar panel tilt also depends on when you want the panels to produce the most energy.
As mentioned above you ll get less power than if you adjusted the angle.
Showing with clear colored lines what your best solar panel angle will be depending on where.
We have completed over 2 6 gw of mounting systems for commercial and utility scale projects in canada the u s.
I fixed tilt ii single axis tracker and iii dual axis tracker.
If your solar panels will have a fixed tilt angle and you want to get the most energy over the whole year then this section is for you.
On the picture below is a easy to understand map.
To further gain electricity production from solar panels.
It s not a good idea to install your panels to face a suboptimal direction even if it means the best tilt possible.
Solar photovoltaic pv power plants utilize three main types of racking systems.
Subtract 15 degrees from the latitude at your location during summer and add 15 degrees to your latitude during winter.
A fixed tilt system positions the modules at a fixed tilt and orientation while solar tracker systems automatically adjust the positions of the pv array so that the pv modules consistently track the sun throughout the day.
For instance if your latitude is 34 the optimum tilt angle for your solar panels during winter will be 34 15 49.
As sites with undulating terrain are being developed more aggressively fixed tilt mounting systems prove ideal by providing increased terrain following capability as compared to single axis trackers on both constant slope and rolling terrain.
For panels that you will want to use all year and not have to touch once they are installed you will want to install at a solar panel angle optimized for just that.
A fixed angle is convenient but note that there are some disadvantages.
Therefore the optimal solar panel tilt may change with the seasons.
In boston a solar array at 30 degrees south is still going to produce more electricity than tilted at 42 degrees and facing north.
Changing the direction of your solar panels in california throughout the year.
There s a simple rule of thumb for calculating the best tilt angle for fixed mount solar panels.
For a precise method use the second formula on this page to calculate tilt angle.