Solar Panel Alignment

This is a solar panel alignment script that uses rotors or gyroscopes to align solar panels for maximum efficiency.

Solar panel alignment.

Finding the optimal angle to mount your solar panels optimal azimuth angle for solar panels. If you have selected america or canada select your state or province. This page doesn t discuss tracking panels solar panels should always face true south if you are in the northern hemisphere or true north if you are in the southern hemisphere. How to use thesolar angle calculator.

Using a gps module and magnetometer the heliowatcher allows the user to place the system anywhere in the world without any calibration. However it is more efficient to have a consecutive block of solar panels installed using the same orientation either vertical or horizontal. We designed and built a system to automatically orient a solar panel for maximum efficiency record data and safely charge batteries. The key feature of this script is that it can virtually align as many towers as you like with just one programmable block and is able to figure out by itself if you use a t shaped solar array only one axis or a mix of the twos.

Tilt azimuth angle. For best results your solar panels should face toward the equator. Well when mounting solar panels there are two elements of the alignment that affect the final efficiency of the panels. This is because the sun is always in the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere.

Orientation the compass direction the panel faces ideally in the southern hemisphere solar panels should be facing as close to true north as possible to reduce the impact that the winter seasons have on efficiency. Select your country from the list. Finding the optimal tilt for your solar panels. The optimum tilt angle is calculated by adding 15 degrees to your latitude during winter and subtracting 15 degrees from your latitude during summer.

For instance if your latitude is 34 the optimum tilt angle for your solar panels during winter will be 34 15 49. While the angle of your solar panels is important a more important factor in your energy production is going to be the direction your panels face. Panels that track the movement of the sun throughout the day can receive 10 in winter to 40 in summer more energy than fixed panels. The calculator will then show the optimum angle for the solar panel.

Select the town or city nearest where you live. The other half of the equation is finding the vertical.