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mounting solar panels:


Solar panel efficiency drops sharply when a panel is angled away from the sun, so you need to choose carefully
what angle you will be mounting any permanent panels. In most cases you will also benefit from adjusting the
angle of the panels differently for Summer and Winter seasons. Here in Iowa, people typically angle their panels
at around 45 degrees in the Winter, and 15 degrees in the Summer, with the panels facing due South.

If you're not going to be changing your panel angle for the seasons, figure out what time of year you want the
most power from your solar, and mount your panels accordingly.

The linked study suggests that panels suffer about 1% power loss for every degree they are tilted away from the
sun. Thus a 30 degree tilt would create about a 30% loss in power. So tilting your panels is definitely worth it.


Best Solar Panel Angle by Zip Code (at Footprint Hero)

Effect of tilt angle (at ScienceDirect)

irradiance (in references)


panel angle vs efficiency:



highest resolution images
last updated 01/18/2025 at 14:25:31 by make_www_index.command version 2024.07.09.A