Help me relocate panels

So, back when I was being experimental I installed 6 panels on a low garage roof. The garden/rear is SSW facing (233SW). The house shades the panels in the late afternoon in the summer, and the winter sun causes shading from some nearby trees. I know it was not optimal, but it was a first cheap and easy foray to see how well it worked for me.

I have since expanded, and now have more panels on a single story rear extension and the main house roof. These perform far better as they are not compromised, but as expected were more of a pain to install myself.

I'm now ready to review the position of the 1st set of panels and have 3 options.

1) leave them alone. They do fairly well in the summer, just lose light in the late afternoon due to the house shade. No expense or effort but useless in the winter.

2) move them to the east tiled roof. Relatively easy and cheap (now I've done it) mounting. Better early morning sun but will lose it mid afternoon due to the east roof angle.

3) move them to the very top flat roof. Best south facing position, but some shading issues to deal with from the sun tunnels and chimney. Also a little worried about high winds and would rather not pierce the flat roof there. Costs seem very high for the renusol ballasted tubs at the moment, but they would give me maximum positioning flexibility.

This pic shows all locations. Green is current, red is options 2 and 3.

I think I am leaning towards option 2, and maybe even get just a couple more panels to go on the flat roof and oversize the south facing inverter a bit more.

Given the complete lack of sun in your photos and the fact that I'd swear your satellite dish is pointing down, can we conclude you are in the UK?

UK sun in winter is famously absent, so do you really think you stand much to gain? Have you simulated anything on https://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/tools.html ?

Lol, I am indeed in the UK! In the winter when there is no sun... there is no sun. However when the sky is clear I am
able to power through the day and charge 5kw of battery with 2 more hours of sun going waste. The majority of that is coming from those south panels so yes, I believe I would be able to charge another 5kw battery with a relocation.

I have done some "manual" simulations and taken drone photos at various times of day to see the shadows (a while back now). I'll check out the link you posted too.

Option 16
Keep everything as is and add more panels anywhere they will fit. Then get more batteries, for multiple days without sun.
Basic UK plan.

Ah yes well, that is what I alluded to at the end there - perhaps not quite as strongly. I already have the additional battery.

The simulators show, predictably, the top roof being the better choice but don't really account for the economics and shading complexities.

parody said:

Ah yes well, that is what I alluded to at the end there - perhaps not quite as strongly. I already have the additional battery.

The simulators show, predictably, the top roof being the better choice but don't really account for the economics and shading complexities.

Click to expand...

That part's on you. Shading, even partial, severely impairs PV performance. If your only options are shaded, the conclusion is likely that it's not worth it.

Thanks, this is why I'm suffering where they are now the sun is lower, and the others are doing much better.

I think, then, that the east roof is the most economical option as it won't be shaded until late afternoon, and is easier to mount. Plus I will add 2 or 3 additional on the top flat roof in places that won't get shaded by chimney etc, rather than packing them in. Just need to find some tubs for cheap, but that can wait.

Tigo optimisers seem very expensive right now, maybe an option in future.

Thanks for the replies, although brief this has helped me sort my thought process out.