Solar panels were useless in winter until I tilted them 60 degrees

Last January my system barely hit 200 watts peak on sunny days. Flat mounted on the roof like everyone said. After three weeks of crap output I built a simple wood frame to tilt them. 60 degrees facing south. Same sunny day in February jumped to 450 watts peak. That's over double the power for basically free wood and hinges. Anyone else tilt theirs for winter or just leave them flat?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamie80414d ago

Tbh I've been saying this for years. Flat mounting is fine for summer but in winter you're just leaving free power on the table. I did the exact same thing last December with scrap 2x4s and some old gate hinges. My 400 watt setup went from barely hitting 150 watts to pushing 380 on a clear day. The math is simple if you think about it, the sun is way lower in the sky so tilting makes a huge difference. Only downside is wind can grab them if you're not careful so make sure your frame is sturdy.

shane_clark14d ago

If sun is lower in winter, @jamie804, how much did you actually tilt your panels to get that boost?

daniel_gonzalez14d ago

Jamie's got the right idea with those 2x4s and gate hinges, that's exactly the kind of DIY solution that works. I tilted my 300 watt panels to about 55 degrees here in Ohio and saw gains almost as big as his, going from around 120 watts flat to nearly 280 on a December afternoon. The key is to adjust them a couple times through the season, not just set and forget, because the sun's angle changes a lot from early December to late February. Wind is a real concern though, I had to add some extra bracing after a gust snapped one of my lighter brackets last year. If you're on a ground mount like me, it's worth putting a few cinder blocks on the base for stability.