For years the advice was simple: in the southern hemisphere, point your panels north and you will harvest the most sunlight over a year. That is still true for raw generation, but raw generation is not the goal anymore. Using your own power is.
Why north is not always the answer
A north-facing array peaks at midday, when many homes are empty and exporting cheaply. Splitting panels east and west spreads generation across the morning and late afternoon, closer to when households actually cook, wash and run air conditioning. With today's low feed-in tariffs, the power you use yourself is worth far more than the power you export.
- North: highest annual yield, peaks midday. Best paired with a battery or daytime load.
- East and west split: a flatter all-day profile that matches morning and evening household use.
- West-leaning: shifts generation toward the expensive evening peak.
We design to your day, not to a textbook. The best-producing array on paper can be the worst-value array in practice if it generates when you are not home.
Tilt, shading and the real roof
Orientation is only half the picture. Roof tilt, seasonal shading from trees and neighbouring buildings, and the placement of strings all change the outcome. This is why we model each roof individually rather than applying a rule of thumb. Two identical houses on the same street can warrant different layouts.
If you are weighing up a layout, our engineers will model the orientation options against your household's usage pattern and show you the trade-offs in dollars, not just kilowatt-hours.
Filed under
