There is a good tool to get an estimate of what different orientation and size of an array at a specific location can produce. It’s called PVGIS from the EU and it works not only for Europe but for most parts of the world. Just play around with it and you will get a good understanding of what orientation will give you the best results over the course of the year.
I have a 2kw north/south array(72w/42n), off grid. My location is about 40% obstructed in summer.. I just added another 2kw east facing, and 400w west facing. All separate strings with their own controllers feeding the same battery bank. A much more constant flow to my batteries/inverter almost all day. Just making life, nicer :) Non monolithic, redundant systems.. useful, and fun.
I want to do the same thing east west setup just trying to figure out how to do it with a single controller I’m now running 8 panels all the same south facing direction
I RV full time and I attempt to park facing due south when I can (I do most days). I recently replaced the 80watt panel that came with my camper with two 200watt panels for a total of 400watts. This has solved my winter time charging problem but the batteries on the 12volt system were run low so many times that they're damaged and won't fully charge. They get to 12.5 to 12.6 by the end of the day but with new batteties will easily reach float at 14.2 probably every day. So before I replace my AGMs with lithium batteries I'm going to install a home made 500watt 48v sun tracking bifacial panel charging an EcoFlow power station. I figure I can put the panel on the rear part of the roof and use 2 actuators to position it. It should just fit (I'm actually going to have to make it fit...) I'm hoping to power it to track the sun from sun energy, not battery so that it will store the panel when the sun goes down. Sun rise will reactivate the tracking system. This is economical for this application but would be very expensive for a large solar application. I'll be able to charge to float both solar arrays each day and even charge the 12v system with the 48v system if necessary (the 12v system powers all the critical systems in the camper) such as extended rainy periods(although the panels charge well on rainy overcast days). The 48v system will be for powering my laptop, security and camera surveillance system. things I need but can live without.
Optimal PV orientation is a tracking array which can be small or very large when wired in strings! The only downside is it requires a large amount of ground soace
This is true, those who said, SOUTH is always the best, did not do an actual observation. I recorded videos around 9AM and 3PM,. At 9AM, as expected the sun shines from east and notice it in our window which is also in also in the east, BUT at 3PM the sunlight is from NORTH of west, not SOUT of west. No RU-vidr ever discussed the structural integrity of the house before installing.
You will need approx 33% more panels mounted only East / West to make equivalent energy as a South only array. Example ... 18 panel array pointed South is roughly equivalent (over 12 months) to 12 panels East plus 12 panels West = total 24 panels. BUT ... the East / West only array will still make 25% less energy in the Winter time, when most homes need it most. South is ALWAYS best, but adding some East / West can help, depending upon your requirements.
You are being generous with only 25% less in winter, it is probably closer to 50% . Get to the end of February time through until end of October and the output is pretty comparable between E/W and S. I have an E/W array and am happy with it. It generates way more than we can use from March onwards, which is the main thing for us. Back up using a storage battery is vital in my opinion.
Absolutely agree E/W is way down in winter. Overall 25% losses for the year as opposed to 15% losses for a similar south-facing array. A 6kwp south facing array will only produce 4.5mw in a year. He doesn't really point that out in the video, and it is important.
What if all my panels are in series and the lowest producing panel will be the deciding factor. Also make a video on how much to oversize the DC array safely for a say 4kw inverter. A very good video indeed.
If you are selling your power back to the grid at the same price they are charging you as a consumer, then you want to set up your array to generate the most kilo-watt-hours possible each day. Ray
I own a similar PV system. I have 6.5 kWp panels facing almost East (azimuth -120 at 45-degree slope) and 6.5 kWp panels facing almost West (azimuth +60 on a 30-degree slope) on 2 strings on my 10kW inverter. I produce just short of 40 kWh a day (end of September) while my neighbor with 10kW inverter and 10 kWp of panels facing South gets well over 50kWh on a sunny day. However, my self-consumption is almost double.
Hi would it a true statement in Ireland at least that you get more sun in the morning before cloud cover rolls in later on . I have anecdotal found this to be true
Hi Vincent, that's an interesting one, and I've been slow to reply to your question because I've been thinking this over. I've seen some data that forecasts East-facing panels to produce a tiny bit more energy than West-facing panels in Ireland. This lines up with your idea about clouds. But I have to include the caveat that the difference in total energy production between East-facing and West-facing panels is really tiny. And it could vary from location to location, even within Ireland.
I own two vacant lots in central Florida around 27.5. I understand in the northern hemisphere panels should point south, but we are not that far north. The challenge is one lot faces east and the other faces south and the houses I want to potentially build has a single flat roof where the solar panels will offer shade to a roof top. How important will solar panel angle be for me?
It's not a big deal, especially at such a low latitude like Florida. East-facing solar panels will produce almost as much energy as South-facing panels. If you have the roof space just add one or two extra panels which will easily make up for any shortfall.
As you get further from the equator, panel orientation generally becomes more and more important. So yes, especially important at 60° North. But this brings up a paradox: Go far enough North, and it doesn't matter what direction the panels face. Because when you reach the North Pole, every direction is South!
Not a waste of energy. However, solar trackers are expensive and may need maintenance. If you want to increase energy generation, it usually makes more sense just to spend that money on a few extra panels instead.
Doesn't matter where you face it, a solar panel array will not save you any money. Over a standard investment of capital, it will COST you money. This one simple fact gets overlooked entirely by protagonists of solar panel arrays. A typical array-investment is an exercise in losing money, and this is not understood at all, even though it has been pointed out time and again for over a decade. Quite bizarre. People cannot do simple mathematics.
