Free tool

What’s the best angle for your panels?

Upright on a railing, angled on a garden stand or flat on a roof? See what each angle makes over a year where you live, and why upright panels win in winter.

best angle facing south in Birmingham: 40°
of a 30° stand’s output from upright panels: 74%
more from upright panels in December: +30%

Photo: Yuma Solar / Unsplash

1Which way will the panels face?

Output for Birmingham.

South

The best direction for solar.

2How will you mount them?

Tilt Upright, 90°

Or set any angle. 0° is flat, 90° is upright.

South-facing at 90°

566

kWh a year from 800 Wp of panels, 73% of the best angle

The best angle facing this way is about 40°, at around 775 kWh a year.

Output by angle

Your angleBest

kWh a year by tilt, 800 Wp
0°	643
5°	669
10°	696
15°	722
20°	737
25°	752
30°	766
35°	769
40°	771
45°	773
50°	762
55°	752
60°	741
65°	712
70°	683
75°	654
80°	625
85°	595
90°	566

Month by month: 90° against 30°

90°30°

kWh a month from 800 Wp at 90° and 30°
Month	90°	30°
Jan	34	28
Feb	41	39
Mar	56	66
Apr	59	86
May	54	95
Jun	49	96
Jul	51	96
Aug	53	85
Sep	55	71
Oct	47	49
Nov	37	32
Dec	32	24

90° makes more than 30° in Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec. October to March is 43% of the year at 90°, against 31% at 30°.

PVGIS 5.3 monthly averages near Birmingham, with no shading. PVGIS gives us 0, 15, 30, 45, 60 and 90°; this angle is one of them.

Angle and direction

kWh a year by angle and direction in Birmingham

From 800 Wp of panels with no shading. The percentage is against the best spot in the table.

Angle	South	South-east	South-west	East	West	North-east	North-west	North
0°Flat	64383%	64383%	64383%	64383%	64383%	64383%	64383%	64383%
15°Low frame	72293%	70091%	69590%	64083%	63282%	57374%	56773%	54470%
30°Garden stand	76699%	72994%	72093%	62781%	61379%	50565%	49764%	45058%
45°	773100%	72794%	71492%	59877%	58275%	44257%	43356%	35846%
60°	74196%	69290%	67788%	54871%	53369%	37649%	36948%	27736%
70°Tilted balcony bracket	68388%	63782%	62381%	49864%	48362%	33143%	32542%	23831%
90°Upright	56673%	52868%	51466%	39651%	38450%	24131%	23631%	16121%

From PVGIS 5.3 monthly figures for the nearest data point to Birmingham. 70° is interpolated between the angles either side.

Summer and winter

Upright panels win in winter

In summer the sun is high, so a panel tilted back towards the sky catches it square on. An upright panel sees it at a glancing angle and makes far less.

In winter the sun stays low, and the upright panel faces it almost head on. Facing south in Birmingham, upright panels make more than a 30° stand in Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec.

Output is spread more evenly through the year. October to March is 43% of the year for upright panels, against 31% on a stand.

Upright panels also clip less on an oversized kit. See the clipping calculator.

Month	Upright (90°)	Garden stand (30°)
Jan	34 kWh	28 kWh
Feb	41 kWh	39 kWh
Mar	56 kWh	66 kWh
Apr	59 kWh	86 kWh
May	54 kWh	95 kWh
Jun	49 kWh	96 kWh
Jul	51 kWh	96 kWh
Aug	53 kWh	85 kWh
Sep	55 kWh	71 kWh
Oct	47 kWh	49 kWh
Nov	37 kWh	32 kWh
Dec	32 kWh	24 kWh
Year	566 kWh	766 kWh

800 Wp facing south in Birmingham. Highlighted months are where upright panels make more.

Across the UK

Upright against angled, south to north

800 Wp of panels facing south. The further north, the lower the winter sun, and the better upright panels do against a stand.

Town	Best angle	Garden stand (30°)	Upright (90°)	Upright vs stand	December, upright vs stand
Plymouth	40°	890 kWh	635 kWh	71%	+23%
Brighton and Hove	40°	917 kWh	661 kWh	72%	+28%
Cardiff	40°	827 kWh	596 kWh	72%	+26%
Birmingham	40°	766 kWh	566 kWh	74%	+30%
Norwich	40°	817 kWh	608 kWh	74%	+32%
Manchester	40°	704 kWh	517 kWh	73%	+32%
Newcastle upon Tyne	40°	750 kWh	574 kWh	76%	+39%
Glasgow	40°	681 kWh	510 kWh	75%	+37%
Aberdeen	45°	701 kWh	541 kWh	77%	+47%
Inverness	40°	643 kWh	485 kWh	75%	+42%

From PVGIS 5.3 monthly figures for the nearest data point to each town. Best angle is to the nearest 5°, from a curve fitted through the PVGIS angles either side of the best one.

Choosing a mounting

Angle isn’t the only thing to weigh up

Balcony railing or wall

Upright, out of the way, and best in winter. In England, panels on a wall or balcony may not stick out more than 0.2 m if the wall faces a road, or 0.4 m otherwise (SI 2026/896). Not on timber balconies or cladding (IPS §5.8).

Garden stand

The most over a year, and easy to turn towards the sun. Free-standing panels in England have height limits near boundaries (SI 2026/896). Watch for shade from fences and hedges: try the shade planner.

Flat roof or shed

Often unshaded. A low frame does nearly as well as a stand. Any mounting must be secure, reversible and non-permanent: straps or ties on their own don’t count (IPS §5.5.1, §8.3.2).

Will the panels fit the space? Try will it fit my balcony. More on each option in our mounting guide.

Panel angle: questions

What is the best angle for solar panels in the UK?

Facing south, about 40° gives the most over a year: around 775 kWh from 800 Wp of panels in Birmingham, from PVGIS. A 30° garden stand makes 766 kWh, 99% of that, so a stand anywhere near that angle does well.

Do vertical balcony panels make much less?

Over a year, yes. Upright and facing south in Birmingham, 800 Wp of panels make 566 kWh, 74% of a 30° garden stand. But they make more than the stand in Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec, when the sun is low.

Is it worth tilting balcony panels out from the railing?

Often, yes. Tilting south-facing panels out to 70° makes about 683 kWh a year here, against 566 kWh upright. (PVGIS gives us 60° and 90°; 70° is estimated between them.) Check the kit’s brackets allow it and that the panels stay within the protrusion limits for your wall.

Should flat-roof panels lie flat?

They can, but a low frame helps. Flat panels make 643 kWh a year here, against 766 kWh at 30° facing south.

Which matters more, direction or angle?

Both, and they interact. Upright panels lose more when turned away from south: an upright east-facing wall makes 396 kWh a year here, against 566 kWh upright facing south. Flat panels don’t care which way they face.

Where do these figures come from?

PVGIS 5.3, the European Commission’s solar data service, using 2005–2023 weather and its standard 14% system loss. We hold its figures for six angles (0, 15, 30, 45, 60 and 90°) and eight directions at points across the UK, and estimate angles in between. They assume no shading.

Sources

Free tools

Plan the rest of your setup

All 22 tools →

Month	90°	30°
Jan	34	28
Feb	41	39
Mar	56	66
Apr	59	86
May	54	95
Jun	49	96
Jul	51	96
Aug	53	85
Sep	55	71
Oct	47	49
Nov	37	32
Dec	32	24

Month	90°	30°
Jan	34	28
Feb	41	39
Mar	56	66
Apr	59	86
May	54	95
Jun	49	96
Jul	51	96
Aug	53	85
Sep	55	71
Oct	47	49
Nov	37	32
Dec	32	24

Month	90°	30°
Jan	34	28
Feb	41	39
Mar	56	66
Apr	59	86
May	54	95
Jun	49	96
Jul	51	96
Aug	53	85
Sep	55	71
Oct	47	49
Nov	37	32
Dec	32	24