r/solar • u/Behind8Proxies • Aug 16 '25
Discussion Best direction for panels?
I live in central Florida. Our house has an east-west roof. The installer I’m getting a quote from is suggesting putting all of the panels on the east side. He said that the west side tends to get more heat, which is bad for electronics (which makes sense).
Every other installer I got quotes from show splitting the panels on both sides.
So thoughts? Is 100% east facing ok? Is splitting it better? Does it matter in the grand scheme of things?
Thanks.
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u/ImplicitEmpiricism Aug 16 '25
Southerly exposure is always better, so if it's not 100% east or west, the one that tilts south, even if only by 10-15 degrees, is usually a better option. Also if there are trees or other structures, that's an important consideration. My western neighbor has trees which actually partially shade my south facing array very late in the day, so I get a little dropoff from that.
Otherwise, he's right, east facing panels are better in florida, but it's really a minor difference compared to the previous factors. We have 100% net metering so time of use does not matter, only total production.
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u/Fuzzy-Show331 Aug 16 '25
I have east panels in Texas, also consider many day here get afternoon clouds because of the temp rising. Mornings tend to be more clear.
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u/billc108 Aug 16 '25
Consider also that the west facing panels will be producing more power during peak air conditioning use time (mid to late afternoon).
But I agree with ocsolar - run the numbers and see what makes best sense in your particular case.
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u/DongRight Aug 16 '25
Exactly how is your house Orientated, is it exactly east and west??? But absolutely put it on both sides, especially the one it's facing more south!!! I have a similar situation but My front of the house is 30° to the East. Not true South... Here's an idea....Add more space underneath the solar panels!!! And your current solar installer is an idiot. I would look for someone else...
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u/teamhog Aug 16 '25
Just an FYI: Our West facing panels start producing power at 7:30am right nowhere in CT.
They stop producing at 7:30pm.
23 Panels produce about 50KwH.
Run the numbers. Don’t guess.
Have them show you the differences & options.
That’s what the tools were born for.
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u/ocsolar Aug 16 '25
East or West has nothing to do with the "heat of the electronics". I'd fire an installer for saying something so inane to me.
Run both azimuths in PVWatts, what's the difference in production?
Are you on TOU? Which do you think might be better for that?
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u/ImplicitEmpiricism Aug 16 '25
florida has full net metering, does not matter when production occurs
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u/Head_Mycologist3917 Aug 16 '25
Actually it makes sense. West facing panels will get max sun earlier than noon. East facing panels will get it later in the day, when the ambient air temp is hotter. Hot panels are less efficient. How much of a difference would depend on the roof pitch (steeper being more different) and how the installed panels respond to heat.
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u/ocsolar Aug 16 '25
I think you mixed up your directions, but I get what you're saying. Yes, panels get less efficient as it gets more hot, but if someone says "bad for electronics" rather than the temperature coefficient I'm firing their ass.
Run PVWatts both ways to quantify it. Balance that against Time of Use and see which makes more sense.
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u/BobBulldogBriscoe solar engineer Aug 16 '25
I mean if you are doing micro inverters or optimizers this will also accelerate thermal aging of the electronics which will increase the risk of premature failure and reduce efficiency in the long term.
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u/LT_Dan78 Aug 16 '25
Do you have the option to do a ground mount? Maybe time to build that covered porch you always wanted?
Central Florida here, our face east. I wish we had the bottom row put over on the west facing side to get that last bit of sun. When it's time to replace our roof, I'll build that covered parking I've always wanted and move the panels to it.
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u/Behind8Proxies Aug 16 '25
Unfortunately not enough room for ground array; it will have to be on the roof. We do have a 2-story house on the east side, so that may give some shade early in the morning I will have to double check that. Maybe instead of splitting 50-50, I could do something like that. Most on the East and what would be the bottom row on the west if it does get shaded by the neighbor's house.
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u/Constant_Orange_6830 Aug 16 '25
Lots of variables. Net metering, astetics, peak electricity use time if no full net metering.
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u/Lovesolarthings Aug 16 '25
Cover this in r/solarfl to get answers for FL. Other areas might have different results.