Mounting your panels

The location and orientation of your solar panels will make a significant difference to the amount of energy they collect.

Choose a south-facing site (north facing in the southern hemisphere) that is free of shade all day, even in the low winter sun.

To get the most from your panel, it should be set at a specific angle which depends on your latitude. Solar panels are generally tilted to generate as much as possible in winter - the summer energy harvest will still be higher.

To find the optimum winter mounting angle (from the horizontal), use this simple formula (courtesy of Charles Landau):

Optimum angle (in degrees) = (your latitude x 0.9) + 29

Here are a few examples:

Optimum winter panel angle (degrees from horizontal)

Latitude (N or S)	Places	Panel angle
60 +	Reykjavik, Helsinki, Antarctica	90
57-59	Oslo, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Aberdeen	82
54-56	Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Moscow, Belfast, Newcastle	78
52-53	Dublin, Leeds, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Berlin	76
50 - 51	London, Brussels, Irkutsk, Warsaw, Frankfurt, Prague	74
48 - 49	Paris, Munich, Vancouver	72
45 - 47	Venice, Lyons, Odessa, Zurich, Quebec	70
42 - 44	Sofia, Vladivostok, Bucharest	67
39 - 41	Beijing, Ankara, Rome, Chicago, New York, Wellington	64
36 - 38	Algiers, Auckland, Athens, Lisbon	62
33 - 35	Cape Town, Sydney, Santiago, Buenos Aries	60
30 - 32	Cairo, Texas, Shanghai, Perth, Tripoli	56
27 - 29	New Delhi, Durban, Chihuahua	54
23 - 26	Sao Paulo, Havana, Johannesburg	50
19 - 22	Hong Kong, Bombay, Mecca, Cairo	46
14 - 21	Bangkok, Dakar, Kingston, Mexico City	43
9 - 13	Caracas, Lima, Darwin	38
5 - 8	Jakarta, Panama, Bogota	34
0 - 4	Singapore, Kinshasha, Nairobi	30

If you are really keen, you can adjust the angle according to the time of year and generate extra power: