Solar panels produce electricity from the photons present in natural daylight rather than from the sunlight itself so panels don t actually need to be installed in direct sunlight to work.
Why should solar panels always be placed in direct sunlight.
The more sunlight reaches your solar panels the more electricity you can generate and the more money you ll be able to save on your electric bill.
Shaded solar panels produce less power than those in direct sunlight.
Solar panels produce electricity when sunlight hits their surface and they produce the most energy when that sunlight is exactly perpendicular to the panel face.
If you re in the u s.
The direction that your solar panels face is fundamental to how much energy they can produce and how much money you can save over time.
Therefore the best angle for your solar panels is the one that allows the panels to get the most direct perpendicular light.
On average a fully charged solar light from eight hours of sunlight will run for about 15 hours.
It is relatively shade free.
Or elsewhere in the northern hemisphere the best direction for solar panels to face is true south though there is an exception.
So the more sunlight received during the day will directly impact how long the light will stay illuminated at night.
Panels facing north east provide will produce around 5 less electricity than north facing solar panels and their production through the day will be between that of north facing modules and east facing ones.
In general there s one big rule.
The light from most incandescent bulbs is usually able to charge a solar light although not as effectively as natural sunlight.
Exposure to less powerful sunlight is the obvious contributor to lowered efficiency but the design of your solar installation specifically the panels and their inverter s also matters.
This will only work if the wall receives lots of direct sunlight i e.
The more peak sun hours a solar panel gets the more electricity it produces.
In an ideal scenario for solar panels would receive direct sunlight 24 hours a day every day.
Place your solar lights as close to the light bulb as possible.
Trees bushes or other buildings that cast shadows on the wall will make the solar panels less efficient.
If your roof doesn t face due south you could install solar modules on a south facing wall instead.