PV Panel Placement
PV panels can be placed in different areas. They are most typically installed on roofs, but they can be placed on the ground or on a pole. Wherever they are placed, they do best when they are facing due south at an angle equivalent to the latitude of the site. Panel efficiency doesn't change much if the panels are oriented within +- 10 degrees of south or +/- 5 degrees of the optimal angle, but as those angles get larger the panel performance starts to degrade more quickly. On top of being sensitive to their orientation, PV panels are severely affected by shade. Even a small amount of shade can cut the output of the entire panel drastically. Because of this, the panels need to be placed in an area with no trees or other shading to the South, East or West. Some small amount of shading to the east or west can be tolerated, but anything more and the system performance will suffer. At Vibrant Solar we have several tools that help to analyze a site. We can give the prospective owner accurate reports of the suitability of any given area for solar panels.
The best roof for a PV system is one with a fairly steep slope that is facing south with few obstructions. If you have this type of roof you are one of the lucky ones and should strongly consider solar. If you don't have this type of roof, that doesn't mean you cannot have a solar electric system, it just means that your system might not be as large or as efficient as you might like. There are basically three ways we will mount solar panels on a client’s roof. These are illustrated below.
FLUSH MOUNT
Flush Mount - This first mounting
type is for a roof which faces close to due south. This can be done on
any slope of roof but performs best on a steeply pitched roof. The
shallowly pitched roof pictured above would not be considered ideal
for this reason. |
ANGLED MOUNT
Angled Mount – This type of
mounting is typically done on a roof
with a lower pitch where the owners
do not mind having the panels stick
up and away from the roof. This
type of mount will result in more
efficiency for the PV system. This is
also used for ground mounts. |
FIN MOUNT
Fin Mount – this mounting system is for homes with shallow roof
pitches where the roofs slope to the
east and to the west. It is the most
obtrusive of the mounting styles but
is sometimes the only option
available. These systems will be
fairly efficient, but will need more
roof area than the others. |
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Provided by Vibrant Solar, Inc.