Hello what is the best way of determing the best orientation of solar panels for an installation. My current setup usually starts around 6:30AM and stops around 4:30PM but i have seen other installations that start around the same time and end as late as 6pm. Is there something i am missing?

 

1 hour ago, CM21 said:

Hello what is the best way of determing the best orientation of solar panels for an installation. My current setup usually starts around 6:30AM and stops around 4:30PM but i have seen other installations that start around the same time and end as late as 6pm. Is there something i am missing?

 

To answer this you need to provide an approximate coordinates as well as direction and angle. 

Mine gives the last trickle at about 17h45 in Gauteng facing North at 26 degrees. As they face East they will stop producing earlier in the afternoon. 

The optimal solar usage depends on both your tilt angle and azimuth.
With a roof installation these are usually fixed and determined by the roof angle and azimuth, unless of course you build a frame where you can set the angle.
Ideally you want your panels to face true North to maximise morning and afternoon irradiation.
Then you would want to have a mechanism to adjust the tilt angle. i.e. set a fixed angle every quarter. The gains are minimal for the amount of effort though.
So an optimal year round tilt angle can be used.
Here is a simple calculator which gives it to the nearest 5°. Type in your closest city and it will give you the ideal tilt angle per quarter or per month if you wish.
https://spheralsolar.com/solar-panel-angle-calculator/

This is an example calculation for Johannesburg

35 minutes ago, zsde said:

The optimal solar usage depends on both your tilt angle and azimuth.
With a roof installation these are usually fixed and determined by the roof angle and azimuth, unless of course you build a frame where you can set the angle.
Ideally you want your panels to face true North to maximise morning and afternoon irradiation.
Then you would want to have a mechanism to adjust the tilt angle. i.e. set a fixed angle every quarter. The gains are minimal for the amount of effort though.
So an optimal year round tilt angle can be used.
Here is a simple calculator which gives it to the nearest 5°. Type in your closest city and it will give you the ideal tilt angle per quarter or per month if you wish.
https://spheralsolar.com/solar-panel-angle-calculator/

This is an example calculation for Johannesburg

Now how to achieve that with a Gabble/hipped roof which is already at an angle.............

You would have to see which surfaces to use for best East and West orientation and then have 2 sets of panels that harvest morning and afternoon solar.

Else consider a ground mounted structure, space permitting