Choosing optimum locations for solar energy systems is smart

As for shade, welllll – selecting a good spot where trees can’t block the sun can be annoying, that is, unless you live in the city. As for city dwellers, what can I say, buildings cast huge shadows too. Choosing the best spot can be demanding.

Otherwise, you may find yourself looking for an arborist or a moving van. We all like shade, but not when it's overshadowing our solar engines. The point is – consider everything before deciding.

In fact, this should be thr first priority on your list. Choosing the spot where the devices will ultimately rest, must be considered almost before choosing the equipment you'll likely install there.

The minimum criteria is this (at the very least), unhindered exposure to sunlight from dawn to dusk. The potential to position your system in the sun's direction. And the unhampered ability to tilt the device correctly for seasonal variations.

If your home or building where you would like to locate a system doesn’t provide a place where the minimum requirements exist, perhaps you should consider opting for another energy source.

Remember, anything less than max sunlight assimilation and solar power generation and or thermal efficiency will be proportionally reduced.

Unfortunately, average home owners can’t always afford choosing expensive solar tracking energy systems; therefore carefully planning for optimum placement at time of fixed system setup is absolutely necessary. However, a DIY solution with is in the mill, and coming soon.

The following methods will produce good and best results. The General Setup is perfectly acceptable and the most economical. The other is for more particular people.

General Setup:
Choosing the general setup will produce good results. Simply face the devices slightly to the east or west of the south as required (or north if you are south of the equator). This method will generally retain 90% of the devices absorptive performance capabilities.

Get the Best Results:
This one is for DIY’er, or those who like to tweak things. It will provide the best performance. Start by choosing the latitude where you live. Now multiply it by .9 then add or subtract the result to 30 for a total depending on the your equatorial position - north or south. See seasons tilt table below.

Mark and drill four (angle) holes in the framing for later adjustment. Choosing framing that enables easy angle adjustment is a must here. Four holes are drilled, however depending on your latitude, it may be only two are needed, See drawing below.

Now setup the array or thermal collector of your choosing, so that the solar angle can be conveniently adjusted to face the sun.

For example: it’s December and you live in Portland Oregon. Your latitude is 45.3°. The best angle for your PV or thermal collector is 45.5 X .9 + 30° = 70.77° from the horizontal – simply round to 71°. You should get perhaps 3 to 5° more gain using this method.

Going beyond these to altitude-azimuth coordinate system or equatorial coordinate system or the selenographic coordinate system to get even better performance; in my opinion, is a waste of time. Basically, this goes well beyond the point of diminishing returns. That is, unless you plan on launching a satellite into a geosynchronous orbit. In any event, look up the city nearest to you and select its latitude in the chart below.

Please remember, all examples assume a sea level orientation. Higher altitudes will allow the capture of more sunlight, as the tilt angle will need to be reduced by just a few degrees to compensate.

As the sun lowers, the system will capture even more energy - longer. Choosing to live at higher altitudes offers another benefit, thinner air permits even greater solar radiation penetration, hence more energy captured.

Site Latitude North or South
0-10 degrees	10 degrees
11- 20 degrees	Latitude +5 degrees
21- 45 degrees	Latitude+ 10 degrees
46- 65 degrees	Latitude+ 15 degrees
>65 degrees	80degrees

Remember, the tilt should be equal to your locations latitude, minus an average declination for summer and a plus declination for winter. The average declination is 11.75° or half of 23.5°.

Also, be sure to calculate roof pitch, that is if you mount your arrays or collectors there.

Roof Pitch Tilt Angle (degrees)
4/12	18.4°
5/12	22.6°
6/12	26.6°
7/12	30.3°
8/12	33.7°
9/12	36.9°
10/12	3.8°
11/12	42.5°
12/12	45°

The table below is for the United States. Choosing the latitude for the city of interest will provide essential data. This information will help in choosing the proper tilt angle for your PV array or thermal panel.

United States	Lat.n.
City	°	'
Albany, N.Y.	42	40
Albuquerque, N.M.	35	05
Amarillo, Tex.	35	11
Anchorage, Alaska	61	13
Atlanta, Ga.	33	45
Austin, Tex.	30	16
Baker, Ore.	44	47
Baltimore, Md.	39	18
Bangor, Maine	44	48
Birmingham, Ala.	33	30
Bismarck, N.D.	46	48
Boise, Idaho	43	36
Boston, Mass.	43	21
Buffalo, N.Y.	42	55
Carlsbad, N.M.	32	26
Charleston, S.C.	32	47
Charleston,W. Va.	38	35
Cheyenne, Wyo	41	9
Chicago, Ill.	41	50
Cincinnati, Ohio	39	8
Cleveland, Ohio	41	28
Columbia, S.C.	34	00
Columbus,Ohio	40	00
Dallas, Tex.	32	46
Denver, Colo.	39	35
DesMoines, Iowa	41	25
Detroit, Mich.	42	20
Dubuque, Iowa	42	31
Duluth, Minn.	46	49
Eastport, Maine	44	54
ElCentro,Calif	32	38
ElPaso, Tex.	31	46
Eugene, Ore.	44	3
Fargo, N.D.	46	52
Flagstaff, Ariz.	35	13
FortWorth,Tex	32	43
Fresno, Calif.	36	44
GrandJunction, Colo.	39	5
GrandRapids,Mich	42	58
Havre, Mont.	48	33
Helena, Mont.	46	35
Honolulu, Hawaii	21	18
HotSprings, Ark.	34	31
Houston, Tex.	29	45
IdahoFalls, Idaho	43	30
Indianapolis, Ind.	39	46
Jackson,Miss.	32	20
Jacksonville, Fla.	30	22
Juneau, Alaska	58	18
KansasCity, Mo	39	6
KeyWest, Fla.	24	33
KlamathFalls, Ore.	42	10
Knoxville, Tenn.	35	57
LasVegas, Nev.	36	10
Lewiston, Idaho	46	24
Lincoln, Neb.	40	50
LongBeach, Calif.	33	46
LosAngeles, Calif.	34	3
Louisville, Ky.	38	15
Manchester, N.H.	43	0
Memphis, Tenn.	35	9
Miami, Fla.	25	46
Milwaukee, Wis.	43	2
Minneapolis, Minn.	44	59
Mobile, Ala.	30	42
Montgomery, Ala.	32	21
Montpelier, Vt.	44	15
Nashville, Tenn.	36	10
Newark, N.J.	40	44
NewHaven, Conn.	41	19
NewOrleans, La.	29	57
NewYork, N.Y.	40	47
Nome, Alaska	64	25
Oakland, Calif.	37	48
OklahomaCity, Okla.	35	26
Omaha, Neb.	41	15
Philadelphia, Pa.	39	57
Phoenix, Ariz.	33	29
Pierre, S.D.	44	22
Pittsburgh, Pa.	40	27
Portland, Maine	43	40
Portland, Ore.	45	31
Providence, R.I.	41	50
Raleigh, N.C.	35	46
Reno, Nev.	39	30
Richfield, Utah	38	46
Richmond, Va.	37	33
Roanoke, Va.	37	17
Sacramento, Calif.	38	35
St.Louis, Mo.	38	35
SaltLake City, Utah	40	46
SanAntonio, Tex.	29	23
SanDiego, Calif.	32	42
SanFrancisco,Calif	37	47
SanJose, Calif.	37	20
SanJuan,P.R.	18	30
SantaFe,N.M	35	41
Savannah, Ga.	32	5
Seattle, Wash.	47	37
Shreveport, La.	32	28
SiouxFalls, S.D.	43	33
Sitka, Alaska	57	10
Spokane, Wash.	47	40
Springfield, Ill.	39	48
Springfield, Mass.	42	6
Springfield, Mo.	37	13
Syracuse, N.Y.	43	2
Tampa, Fla.	27	57
Toledo, Ohio	41	39
Tulsa, Okla.	36	09
VirginiaBeach, Va	36	51
Washington, D.C.	38	53
Wichita, Kan.	37	43
Wilmington, N.C.	34	14

Canada	Lat.n.
City	°	'
Calgary, Alba.,Can.	51	1
Edmonton, Alb.,Can.	53	34
Kingston, Ont.,Can.	45	15
London, Ont.,Can.	43	2
Montreal, Que.,Can.	45	30
MooseJaw, Sask., Can.	50	37
Nelson,B.C., Can.	49	30
Ottawa, Ont.,Can.	45	24
Quebec, Que.,Can.	46	49
St.John,N.B., Can.	45	18
Toronto, Ont.,Can.	43	40
Vancouver,B.C., Can.	49	13
Victoria,B.C., Can.	48	25
Winnipeg, Man.,Can.	49	54

Poor mans sun tracker
Plans and instructions for a homemade portable tracker are under development. Thank you for choosing five shades of green energy.

---

Links:

Choosing the right location is critical. Thanks for stopping by.

---

Custom Search