Does Height of Solar Panel on Roof Affect Efficiency in a Measurable Amount?

[jhuts12]

We are getting ready to build a house and are going to place solar panels on our roof. Would a 25-30 foot difference in height (with the same angle) affect the amount of sunlight that the panels would get in a substantial amount?

[studiot]

9 hours ago, jhuts12 said:

We are getting ready to build a house and are going to place solar panels on our roof. Would a 25-30 foot difference in height (with the same angle) affect the amount of sunlight that the panels would get in a substantial amount?

 

The elevation difference would only have a significant effect if the higher level placed the panels clear of some (partial) shading object such as another building or trees etc.

[druS]

Same as studiot. Note that most domestic solar panels don't deal with partial shading at all. It de-rates many systems so that the whole panel may as well be in the shade. There are commercial systems that have dealt with this issue but I doubt they are easily available for domestic.

Height itself makes no difference. Angle to the sun obviously does.

[Sensei]

On 14.03.2018 at 1:25 AM, jhuts12 said:

We are getting ready to build a house and are going to place solar panels on our roof. Would a 25-30 foot difference in height (with the same angle) affect the amount of sunlight that the panels would get in a substantial amount?

Hm.. We're in Applied Mathematics section. Are you interested in equation which you should use to calculate it?

You can calculate how much energy/power you will get from the Sun by using inverse-square law.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverse-square_law

First calculate with ~ 150*10^9 meters distance, then repeat with 150 bln meters + 9 meters..

Difference will be much smaller than effect caused by e.g. dust on solar panels.

 

ps. Install solar panels in such a way, it'll be easy to clean and remove snow. Just in case you will need it.

 

 

Edited March 17, 2018 by Sensei

[interested]

You need to be aware of where the sun is most of the year. Is it mainly to the south or north of your location all year round or are you at a latitude wher in the winter time it is north of you and in the summer south or vice versa. Height makes no difference but angle to the sun does, the angle changes with time of day and season, so for the best performance obtainable it might be beneficial to make adjustable in some way.