What is the best roof pitch for solar panels?
I am building a shed in Western Australia and will be putting solar panels on the roof to generate electricity. Need to know what the most optimum roof pitch is for solar panels. Tilted at latitude is typical for solar electric, so if you’re at (say) 35 degrees south latitude, you’d face your roof to solar north (magnetic north is close enough), and have it pitched up 35 degrees from horizontal. If consistent power throughout the year is more important than total power, you might tilt at 15 to 20 degrees higher, to catch the short winter sun. If you’re at a very low latitude, you would want some tilt so that the panels don’t collect water and dirt. If you’re in a place that gets snow, you’ll want a pitch steep enough to shed the snow (possibly with a little encouragement from a long-handled broom).
