
Why solar panels are not worth it for all homeowners1. Your roof isn’t suitable for solar panels Home solar panel systems are nearly always placed on the roof. Most roofs possess the two necessary ingredients for solar panels: lots of sunlight and a surface to mount them on. . 2. There’s nowhere else to put solar panels . 3. Your electricity costs are already low . 4. You plan to move or sell your home . [pdf]
Any panels that go on your roof are limited by the roof’s design. For instance, your roof may run east to west instead of north to south. This means you don’t have a south-facing surface to use when you install. As a result, you can’t take advantage of the maximum amount of sunlight.
Luckily, you don’t have to choose between a bulky rooftop solar installation or nothing at all. Homeowners have several options to make use of the sun’s energy, from backyard solar panels to solar pergolas and beyond. Many of the best unique solar panel placement ideas integrate seamlessly into a home’s exterior. Ready to dive in?
It’s much easier to get rooftop solar panels installed if you have a loft space. This way, installers can look at the underside of your roof beforehand to check its structure and pinpoint where the rafters are, then look afterwards to make sure the felt isn’t torn and the bolts have gone straight into the rafters.
Thanks to recent changes to permitted development rules, most installations on flat roofs won’t need solar panel planning permission. So long as the panels aren’t visible from the street and don’t exceed 200mm above the roof, they should be covered under permitted development rights.
The common perception is that solar panels are only suitable for a classic south facing pitched roof, but if the roof of your home doesn’t have the right orientation, can the flat roof of a garage or rear extension be just as effective? In short, the answer is yes, but there are a number of different variables to get right.
You might find solar panels look more natural when mounted to a shed or garage instead. Sheds and garages tend to have a more utilitarian feel than a home. If your shed or garage is located behind your home, you can easily install panels there so they have very little effect on your home’s profile from the road.

It’s not enough just to say “my roof is south facing so I’m going to get the maximum output from my panels”. There are other factors which will affect your output such, as elevation and shade. Elevation is the pitch of your roof in degrees from horizontal. A typical two storey house roof in the UK ha a roof elevation of around. . So we’ve established that there's a sweet spot for your solar panel orientation which is directly south and a sweet spot for elevation which is. . I get asked this a lot and there isn’t really a simple answer. You either accept that your output will be down to the sort of levels in the table above or you spend a little more money and try to. [pdf]
#SolarPower #EcoFriendly Click to Tweet Optimally oriented solar panels in the UK should face southward to maximize sunlight absorption and, consequently, electricity production. This direction allows your panels to soak up maximum sunlight throughout the day, generating higher electricity than other orientations.
When installing photovoltaic solar panels for maximum energy production and efficiency, the optimal direction they should face is true geographic south if you are located in the northern hemisphere. By orienting panels to true south, the solar array will receive the highest amount of direct sunlight throughout the day and year.
To find out, we used the MCS PV Output Calculator, which lets MCS-certified solar panel installers calculate the best direction and angle for panels anywhere in the UK. It reveals how much more, and less, energy a panel produces when facing north, south, east and west, and when tilted at various angles from the horizontal. Here’s a quick summary:
The orientation of solar panels refers to the direction they face in relation to the sun. There are several types of solar facing based on the cardinal directions: 1. South-Facing Solar Panels Advantages: Capture maximum sunlight throughout the day (in the Northern Hemisphere). Suitable for: Most regions in the Northern Hemisphere. 2.
To make sure the solar panels are pointing towards the sun for the majority of the day, UK solar panel owners should have their panels facing southwards. Again, this rule changes from country to country – it all depends on which hemisphere they’re located in.
The optimal angle for solar panels in the UK is somewhere between 30° and 40°. However, this also varies depending on where in the UK your home is situated, as you can see below: At 30° - 40°, your solar panels are positioned in a way that allows them to absorb the most sunlight throughout the day.

Solar panels primarily degrade because of normal wear and tear over time from exposure to UV rays and adverse weather conditions. The rate of degradation is included in a panel’s performance warranty. . Several factors can determine the speed at which solar panels degrade over time, some of which is down to the manufacturer while others. . Buying high-quality solar panels, ensuring they’re installed correctly, and carrying out regular maintenance can help to reduce degradation so that they. [pdf]
Solar panel degradation is a gradual decline in efficiency due to exposure to sunlight and weather. Most solar panels degrade at a rate of about 0.5% per year, meaning they still work well for many years. Quality of materials and installation practices greatly affect how quickly solar panels degrade.
While PV technology has been present since the 1970s, solar panel degradation has been studied mainly in the last 25 years. Research Institutes like NREL have estimated that appropriate degradation rates of solar panels can be set at 0.5% per year with current technology. What is the impact of solar panel degradation on your PV system?
Solar panel degradation comprises a series of mechanisms through which a PV module degrades and reduces its efficiency year after year. Aging is the main factor affecting solar panel degradation, this can cause corrosion, and delamination, also affecting the properties of PV materials.
Appropriate degradation rates of solar panels are estimated at 0.5% per year considering a well-maintained PV system featuring ideal conditions. However, solar panel degradation rates can reach up in some extreme cases, going as high as 1.4% or 1.54% per year.
This degradation is an inevitable process that occurs due to various factors, including age, environmental conditions, and material quality. According to industry standards and research, solar panels typically experience an annual degradation rate ranging from 0.5% to 3%.
Surprisingly, the sun, which is supposed to keep solar panels ‘alive’, can degrade them. The sun’s UV rays hit hard on solar panels and cause high degradation in a very short time. This form of solar panel degradation is called light-induced degradation.
We are deeply committed to excellence in all our endeavors.
Since we maintain control over our products, our customers can be assured of nothing but the best quality at all times.