2 iPhone Apps for Small Solar Installations

We’re about to leave for Cuzco and one question we had was the best way to orient the small solar panels so that they generate the most power over the course of the year. We tested out two applications on our iPhone to help us. If you want to install and forget it, the rule of thumb is that to generate the most power, the panels should point directly South (if in Northern Hemisphere) and angled at your latitude. If you’re in a shady spot, use your judgement so that you angle the panel to get the most sun over the course of the day.

We gave it a try in our office, which is at 40 degrees North (Brooklyn, NY).

Orientation – Use the Compass application included in the Utilities section of your iPhone and you can find 180 degrees South. It turns out that the window on our office is pointing almost directly South already.

Angle – We used iHandyLevel (Free) to angle the panel at 40 degrees using our suction cup mount.

Cuzco lies about 16 degrees South of the equator so, where we can, we will be pointing the panels North and at a 16 degree angle. It is close enough to the equator and our panels are large enough for the application that if we have to point them straight up, they will still work quite well.

The good news about small scale solar is that you can easily move the panel and angle it on a daily or even hourly basis to get the best orientation to the sun. But if you want to dig into the details, try “Determining optimum tilt angles of photovoltaic panels at typical north-tropical latitudes.”