On the contrary in the countries of the southern hemisphere such as south africa and australia the best orientation is true north.
Best angle to tilt solar panel.
Whatever your latitude is you can subtract 15 from it to calculate the angle for summer.
Tilt the panels to your latitude.
The more exact way to count out the best tilt angle is done as follows.
Both the slope and the orientation is critical for best meeting your needs.
For los angeles a solar panel tilt of 19 degrees works the best.
The summer optimum tilt angle on the other hand will be 34 15 19.
But the best roof angle for solar panels has less of an impact on all of this productivity than the direction orientation in which your solar energy system faces.
There are two methods for calculating the tilt angle for solar panels.
Tilt the panels to your latitude.
For a precise method use the second formula on this page to calculate tilt angle.
Both of these angles require latitude degrees.
It s not a good idea to install your panels to face a suboptimal direction even if it means the best tilt possible.
Since solar panels are more productive when the sun s rays are perpendicular to their surfaces the certainly best orientation is the one directly true south azimuth angle 180.
Tilt the panels to your latitude plus 15.
For instance in the san francisco bay area the best solar panel tilt angle is between 22 23 degrees.
The optimum tilt angle is calculated by adding 15 degrees to your latitude during winter and subtracting 15 degrees from your latitude during summer.
For a latitude up to 25 take your latitude and multiply it by 0 87 for a latitude between 25 to 50 take your latitude multiply by 0 87 after that you will add 3 1 degrees for a latitude over 50 the most ideal angle will end up being approximately 45 degrees.
For instance if your latitude is 34 the optimum tilt angle for your solar panels during winter will be 34 15 49.
In boston a solar array at 30 degrees south is still going to produce more electricity than tilted at 42 degrees and facing north.