Making sure your solar panels operate as efficiently as possible helps you get the best out of your solar system.
Two things you need to consider are:
Tilt of the panel – this is the vertical angle (or elevation) of your panel from the ground.
Azimuth of the panel – this is the horizontal angle relative to north.
What’s new at Origin
Traditionally at Origin, we have only placed solar panels with azimuths under 105° and over 255°.
But recently at Origin, we’re finding there’s greater cost-benefit to our customers to expand the azimuth range of our installs by 30° (15° both directions), meaning we now do under 120º and above 240º. This is optimising energy outputs, so you see bigger savings, long-term.
Other panel considerations
Panel number
The more solar panels you have, the more energy you can generate. Thanks to cheaper solar hardware, a range of government rebates and technology improvements, putting a few extra panels on your roof is more affordable and generally worthwhile for the output your system can deliver.
Location & shading
Clear access to the sun is very important. Shade from trees, neighbouring buildings or roof fixtures like chimneys can affect the amount of power your system generates. If just one panel in your system is shaded by 50%, your entire system could be reduced by a similar amount.
Panel position
Because the sun moves through the sky throughout the day, you really want to make sure that the sun rays are hitting your panels at a 90° angle around midday, when the sun is strongest. This maximises the amount of sun that hitting the panel and the electrical energy that’s produced.
Roof direction
North-facing roofs are ideal but often east and/or west facing panels are reasonable alternatives. The available tilt and azimuth options for your home’s solar will depend on the shape of you roof.
The amount of solar energy that can be produced on south-facing roofs (especially in the southern states) is less than optimal. However, if you don’t have a lot of roof space, using southerly panels in addition to panels on other sides could still make financial sense, especially when taking into consideration the lowering costs of extra panels.
Our Solar Experts will design a system that best suits your roof and provide you with a more accurate energy generation and savings forecast, based on your panel layout by taking into account your roof’s natural tilt and azimuth. You can be confident Origin will provide all the information you need to invest wisely in solar.
Want to see what savings you could make with solar? Check out our solar savings calculator.