Roof Slope For Solar Panels

Away from a horizontal ridge on both sides to create the 36 in wide path.

Roof slope for solar panels.

There are several factors in your control when it comes to finding the ideal pitch for your solar panels. If you are trying to install solar panels on a steep roof it may not be possible to place panels at the optimal tilt with traditional racking systems. Where panels cover more than 33 of the roof a 36 in wide path is required on both sides of the ridge. The energy reduces as we move away from this optimum angle.

For roofs where pv panels cover up to 33 of the total area in plan view essentially as seen from above the panels must be at least 18 in. Most australian homes have a roof pitch of 20 to 30 which is considered optimum for maximizing solar power generation. Solar contractors recommend using the latitude of your home s location as the degree of tilt. Many roofs are going to have slopes between 30 and 40 degrees which means that solar panels can lie flush against the roof and produce enough electricity for attractive returns.

However the panels can be installed anywhere between 10 to 35 deg with negligible efficiency loss. For example the latitude of los angeles california is 34 degrees so the tilt of your solar panels would be 34 degrees. However even if you lower the tilt of your roof all the way down to 5 production only decreases by about 10 percent. So for this roof the optimum angle is 35 a bit over an 8 12 roof slope and at this angle the roof generates 1 265kwh m2 day.

At 30 the energy drops to 1 260kwh m2 year a reduction of just 0 4.