The best location for solar panels is an unobstructed roof plane. While many people believe that solar PV panels can only be placed on south-facing roofs, the reality is that modern solar panels will operate on any obstructive roof face, even under dull, cloudy conditions.
Due to the tilt of the Earth and the UK’s location on the planet, the sun is always in the southern half of the sky. This means that solar panels facing south are exposed to the maximum amount of sunlight throughout the day. With older solar panel systems, which were only as efficient as their least effective element, the recommendation was to install them on south-facing roofs wherever possible. However, with modern solar systems, such as the Marley SolarTile, this is much less of an issue.
With older systems, the output of a solar array was limited to that of the least efficient panel. This meant that if just one cell was broken or shaded or facing away from the sun, the entire system would have reduced capacity.
While modern solar panels can operate effectively while facing any direction, south-facing is still the optimal position, and solar arrays facing south are likely to see a return on investment quicker than systems pointing either north, east or west. However, if a south-facing array is not possible on a home, rest assured the solar panels will still generate electricity efficiently, no matter their orientation.
To learn more about optimal solar panel installation, check out our blog post all about solar myth-busting, or get in touch with a member of our team, who will be happy to answer your questions and provide advice on solar installations.