How to improve solar panels facing north

Can you put solar panels on a north-facing roof?

Sometimes, however, the homeowner will want to add modules on the north-facing roof. This may be for aesthetic purposes, or sometimes because the south-facing rooftop isn’t fit for solar. The most common rule-of-thumb is that you simply can’t do that. But we wanted to ask, how bad is it to put solar panels on a north-facing roof?

Should solar panels be pointing south or North?

It’s considered common knowledge that you want to point your solar modules south, toward the equator (assuming you are in the northern hemisphere). This maximizes the energy production over the course of the year, through both summer and winter. Sometimes, however, the homeowner will want to add modules on the north-facing roof.

Are north facing solar panels worth the money?

With electricity prices rising, north facing solar panels are now often worth the money. Long ago, when the year was 2010, electricity was cheaper than it is now and solar panels were way more expensive. Installing solar just about made financial sense on a south facing roof. But installing on a north facing roof made absolutely no sense.

Should a solar system be installed on a north facing roof?

But installing on a north facing roof made absolutely no sense. That’s because a north facing solar system typically produces about 56% of the output of a south facing system. Since 2010, the cost of electricity has risen from 11p per kilowatt hour to over 30p per kilowatt hour. That’s almost a three-fold increase.

Are north-facing solar panels worth it?

So you can see here that my north facing panels would only produce 57% the amount of energy compared to the south facing panels. So already that’s going to give you an idea on how worthwhile it is having north-facing panels installed, it’s clearly going to take a lot longer than south-facing panels for them to cover their own costs.

Can a rooftop solar panel face north-east or north-west?

Rooftops that face north-east or north-west can be suitable though, as part of a larger installation. In a perfect world, you'd be able to constantly adjust your panels' angles, but that's not practical or affordable for most rooftop solar panel systems. Getting the angle or direction wrong can reduce your system's output by 50% or more.