How to Adjust a Solar Panel Tilt Monthly

Solar panels are the most efficient, or can create the most electricity, when they are pointed directly toward the sun. You can buy a system that will allow your panels to track the sun as it moves across the sky, but tracking systems can be expensive. Most residential solar panels are simply mounted at an angle that works reasonably well year-round. But to maximize efficiency, you can change the angle with the season, flattening the tilt in the summer, when the sun is higher in the sky, and making the angle more steep in the winter, when the sun is lower.

Instructions

- 1
  Point your solar panels in the right direction. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, your panels should face as close to south as you can get them. The opposite is true in the Southern Hemisphere.
- 2
  Mount your panels at an angle that is the same as the approximate latitude of the area where you live. This is the angle you should use if you don't plan to adjust them again because it strikes a good balance between where the sun is in the winter and summer. In Houston, where the latitude is about 30 degrees, the best solar panel angle for year-round use is about 30 degrees, as measured from horizontal.
- 3
  Flatten the angle by 15 degrees for summer months if you want to make your panels more efficient. The best dates to have your solar panels tilted at the summer angle are from April 18 to Aug. 24.
- 4
  Steepen the angle of your solar panels by 15 degrees for the winter months for greater efficiency. Winter, from a solar-energy perspective, is Oct. 7 through March 5.
- 5
  Return the panels to the same angle as your latitude in the spring, March 5 to April 15, and in the fall, Aug. 24 to Oct. 7.

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