How to Calculate the Best Tilt Angle for Solar Panels
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- 📖 My Best-Selling book on Amazon: cleversolarpow...
Solar panel tilt angle calculator: cleversolarpow...
In this video, I'm going to show you how to find the best tilt angle for your solar panels to maximize your energy production. Whether you're optimizing for summer, winter, or year-round efficiency, I've got you covered with easy-to-follow formulas and examples from Houston, Texas, and Cape Town, South Africa.
I'll walk you through the process of calculating the ideal tilt angle for your panels. I’ve created an online calculator that will do it for you! Simply enter your latitude, and it will automatically provide you with the recommended tilt angles for each season.
We'll dive into a detailed comparison of summer, winter, and year-round angles, showing you which setup yields the most energy. By the end, you’ll know why I recommend using a year-round tilt angle for the best overall performance.
If you're curious about how to find your current panel angle, I’ll also demonstrate how to use an angle meter app on your smartphone to ensure your panels are set up correctly.
Every time I see one of your videos, I am absolutely amazed at your knowledge and passion for solar power. If many more people can think and do as you do, global warming will be forgotten problem of the past. Thank you for the South African data from a guy watching from South Africa, this information is gold!!!
Don't be so gullible. Global warming is a scam, there's this thing called underwater volcanos, and forces in nature that are out of human's control.
This is very useful information for people to assure they're getting the most out of their solar system. Thanks for sharing. Great job!
Bi facial south facing vertical mounted 465w panel, heavy rain dark cloud 76w, overcast 125w, overcast and snow 180w, summer sun 300w, sun and snow 569w.
I get almost 2x per hour the summer #'s when the days are half as long. 3 days I can multiply those #'s by 27, my generator is neglected and abandon already.
Panels clean once a year, snow never sticks panels are cooler in summer. In 80 mins I am going to build a new vertical 6 panel mount, maybe a short posted in 5 hours.
For mono, poly and grid tie systems angles are best. Thanks Nick great vids as always.
Hej Nick. Thank you for your informative videos. Kindly be open to following considerations : 1. A kwh is more expensive in winter time than summer time in arctic areas. 2. In summer a 20kwh battery bank is fully charged at 10:00 as usage of electricity is less than in winter with solar panels at 75*. 3. Dont underestimate solar reflection from snow, this cooked my batteries first winter many years ago. 4. Think about using a split heatpump cooling panels and preheating heatpump air if the 75* panels constitutes a heat tunnel. 5. In a earlier video comparing mono/poly ypu forgot the solar angle, a poly has higher effieciency for longer time due to the horisontal angle. 6. I shouldnt post this informing non-thinkers, I allready regret this post.
Thanks for the online angle calculator. Its a great help
Thank you, very helpful. Currently setting up solar for a shipping container cabin with A/C and your videos and website have helped immensely!!!!
Thanks, glad you like my content!
Great video ! very good information which I just used to mount solar panels for my house cameras. Keep on doing what you do!
Thank you!
thank you for your efforts 👍
Good Afternoon ! Thank You. TAKE CARE..
Very helpful, Thanks
Glad it's helpful! Checkout the calculator on my website.
One question sir, thank you for the calculator thought, it helped a lot. The tilt angle found on your calculator was for a flat roof surface? What if it was a otherwise? The angle would still apply? And that we would use braces for it?
For Cape Town, winter-time power generation is already significantly reduced due to cloud cover, so perhaps it's better to use an angle more suitable for maximum generation in winter so as to aim toward equaling the generation out throughout the seasons and not otherwise coming up short during winter.
PV watts (the data I use) uses historical weather data. So if this is happening every year, then it will be included.
I will built my first solar Sistem for a house at the beach. My idea is make a simple 50W system to power some garden lights. I am at -23.89° Latitude so according to calculator the Year-round angle is 21° facing north. Nos comes my question... Where I am at, we have rainy season in Summer, usually clouds comes in the afternoon... We also use the house more often on summer. So Would it make sense to lightly tilt the panel towards East? What would this tilting be? I would guess around 10°. Is the a way of calculation this other variables light Clouds? Do you cover this topics on your book? Thanks a lot!!!
I do cover the tilt in my book. However since yours is a special case I recommend using pvwatts online tool to simulate your angle and orientation throughout the year.
@@cleversolarpower I will do that! Thanks a lot.
Yall I was forced to watch this video ty to my Sci teacher ♡♡
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💀
You have a good teacher.
The best angle is perpendicular to the sun.
Works every time!
If you can track the sun year round, great. If not, follow his advice.
Is there a way to see forecasted daily charts for summer, winter, yearly average if I were to deviate from the sugguested values? Thinking about using 40⁰ year round at latitude 34⁰ in order to skew my production towards heavier winter production
You can download monthly or hourly data from PV watts. Then do some excel magic to get average daily production.
What is the optimal angle for east-west facing systems?
It's zero degrees. I have a video about it coming soon.
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Welcome to the team!
Does your online calculator round up numbers? Doesn't seem to be precisely correct for my location, a very tiny and insignificant difference, just curios if you are rounding up numbers for simplicity?
Yes, I'm rounding numbers to the decimal. because 0.5 degree tilt is unrealistic to attain.
@@cleversolarpower understood, thank you
I’m confused. I cannot find that angle app. Also what are NEGATIVE angles?
There are many other apps available who do the same. Negative is just the inverse.
How can i get the data of the all mounths pls
Go to a website called PVWatts
what do these numbers mean(0.9;2.5;29;23.5)?
These are standard formulas used to calculate the tilt angle.
Mathematically, a comma opposed to a decimal is illogical. It's not only Europe that does this.
Optimize panel angle via highest electrical output.
It's the rest of the world vs the USA, so who is being illogical 😅