Attractive Vertical Mounts for Solar Panels

[pone]

There are a variety of studies and online videos starting to advocate for using bifacial panels that are vertically mounted, and in an east/west orientation rather than south facing. That gives both sides of the panel slightly better illumination throughout the day cycle and appears to be testing a bit higher on energy output. Who makes sturdy vertical mounts for solar panels, preferably with very good aesthetics? I want to look at using this idea as part of a fenceline, and it needs to look refined not farm-rustic.

 

[mciholas]

That gives both sides of the panel slightly better illumination throughout the day cycle and appears to be testing a bit higher on energy output.

Got data for that? I'm curious about it.

I tried modeling this in PVwatts (with bifacial panels) and it never was as good as the old fashioned inclined south facing system.

Mike C.

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Not suitable for your location. The only people who benefit from vertically mounting panels are those who live in the extreme North or South and get lots of snow in the winter.

Everyone else should be mounting flat or at the angles described by the various online calculators for panel positioning.

"Everyday Dave" has a few videos where he tests output of vertically mounted panels. https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectsWithDave

The key thing with bi-facials is to gather as much ambient light behind and around them as possible. Lots of white rocks, walls or whatever you have. But don't try to mount them vertically unless you have a really good reason for it. You won't get very good performance from them, mounted vertically.

That being said, I recommend something like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/LIFETIM...-Ground-Line-Applications-LTP-80120/314915435

 

[pone]

Got data for that? I'm curious about it.

I tried modeling this in PVwatts (with bifacial panels) and it never was as good as the old fashioned inclined south facing system.

Mike C.

There are numerous videos popping up on Youtube. I did not bookmark studies but let me know if none of these reference any hard research:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bifacial+vertical

 

[pone]

Not suitable for your location. The only people who benefit from vertically mounting panels are those who live in the extreme North or South and get lots of snow in the winter.

Everyone else should be mounting flat or at the angles described by the various online calculators for panel positioning.

"Everyday Dave" has a few videos where he tests output of vertically mounted panels. https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectsWithDave

The key thing with bi-facials is to gather as much ambient light behind and around them as possible. Lots of white rocks, walls or whatever you have. But don't try to mount them vertically unless you have a really good reason for it. You won't get very good performance from them, mounted vertically.

Even if I only produced 80% as much energy from the ground mount, it would cost me much less to install than a roof mount and might potentially be much more pleasing aesthetically. Used panels are getting dirt cheap, and most of the cost of solar here is about the cost of labor for roof work.

I like the idea of being able to play around with the configuration at low cost in an experimental mode, and then commit to a final configuration based on testing.

That being said, I recommend something like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/LIFETIM...-Ground-Line-Applications-LTP-80120/314915435

For my eye, galvanized steel rails like that look farm rustic. It might not enhance the appearance of a small single-family home in a suburb.

 

[wpns]

Even if I only produced 80% as much energy from the ground mount, it would cost me much less to install than a roof mount and might potentially be much more pleasing aesthetically. Used panels are getting dirt cheap, and most of the cost of solar here is about the cost of labor for roof work.

I like the idea of being able to play around with the configuration at low cost in an experimental mode, and then commit to a final configuration based on testing.


For my eye, galvanized steel rails like that look farm rustic. It might not enhance the appearance of a small single-family home in a suburb.

How about the black powder-coated ones or the wooden cladding used when building fencing?

I can’t imagine the moment arm of a solar panel wouldn’t just snap them off at the base in any serious wind, but I’m no ME. I do live in hurricane territory though, so I’m probably naturally conservative there…

 

[littleharbor2]

A vertical East West orientation sounds like a bad idea to me. During the middle of the day when the sun is most intense you're facing so much away from it that you're going to lose The best, most intense irradiance of the day. Early morning and late afternoon sun is very weak compared to midday So running vertical that's the only direct sun your panels will get and couldn't be any worse in intensity.

 

[HarryN]

There are a variety of studies and online videos starting to advocate for using bifacial panels that are vertically mounted, and in an east/west orientation rather than south facing. That gives both sides of the panel slightly better illumination throughout the day cycle and appears to be testing a bit higher on energy output. Who makes sturdy vertical mounts for solar panels, preferably with very good aesthetics? I want to look at using this idea as part of a fenceline, and it needs to look refined not farm-rustic.

It is a really great idea, especially for our area.

The other really big advantage is that our electricity cost is very high in the late afternoon ( 3 - 8 pm ) and there is a glut of power from 11 am - 2 pm. It does not make sense for most people to add more solar to face the sun in the mid day in our area.

This problem is going to be especially large this year, with the big battery storage facility fire taking out a lot of capacity.

To some extent, it does not matter what is perfect - we are going to most certainly be short on power in this area during peak demand this summer. Vertical panels are exactly what is needed.

R

Post in thread 'Moss Landing plant fire'

Feb 3, 2025

Actually yes it is. We aren't diverting needed water because of some claim of some fish that hasn't even been seen in years, nor do we have brownouts in the heat of summer (even when we had uncharacteristically hot ones), and generally we don't have mass amounts of underbrush piled up all over.

Basically we don't have the same level of self destructive stupidity in our state government, thankfully.

The "water diversion for fish hampered the fire-fighting effort" is absolute hogwash. Sate water officials are just shaking their heads at the theatrics of the Army Corps of Engineer...

• Recovering EE

• 
• 

 

[SpeakItAloud]

Got data for that? I'm curious about it.

I tried modeling this in PVwatts (with bifacial panels) and it never was as good as the old fashioned inclined south facing system.

Mike C.

My 400W bifacial panels, too, are mounted vertically between steel fence posts East/West facing. I live in NE South Dakota, and I am satisfied with the PV output from them. My "normal panels" are mounted on the South side of a metal sheeted Morton farm building on hinges. I just change the angle with risers. This time of year, they lay flat against the building.
As far as aesthetics, if I wanted or cared about how they look, I would checkout "Fencing supply businesses." There are many ways to make your panels blend into the surroundings. You could also buy siding, like what is on your house, make long boxes from it, and cover your mounting posts.

 

[HarryN]

These are not "aesthetic" but more experimental / utilitarian.

At my off grid work shop, I use this setup to generate power all day long. Obviously needs some clean up. It is just panels mounted to a metro style rack with wheels. 2 panels facing vertical, 1 facing up. I flip it around depending on morning or afternoon. In the photo, it is later in the afternoon.

The other is an experimental design I did as part of a disaster relief setup. I do some volunteer work in disaster relief.

I built it for a burning man group to take up to test, but in the end, they didn't for various reasons. You can see that the drought was hitting hard that year. It is just a 6 ft electricians ladder with some 2x4 pieces, and a DIY power system.

 

[SpeakItAloud]

There are a variety of studies and online videos starting to advocate for using bifacial panels that are vertically mounted, and in an east/west orientation rather than south facing. That gives both sides of the panel slightly better illumination throughout the day cycle and appears to be testing a bit higher on energy output. Who makes sturdy vertical mounts for solar panels, preferably with very good aesthetics? I want to look at using this idea as part of a fenceline, and it needs to look refined not farm-rustic.

As far as aesthetics, checkout "Fencing supply businesses."
There are many ways to make your panels blend into the surroundings. You could buy siding, like what is on your house, make long boxes from it, and cover your mounting posts.

 

[SpeakItAloud]

My 400W bifacial panels, too, are mounted vertically between steel fence posts East/West facing. I live in NE South Dakota, and I am satisfied with the PV output from them. My "normal panels" are mounted on the South side of a metal sheeted Morton farm building on hinges. I just change the angle with risers. This time of year, they lay flat against the building.
As far as aesthetics, if I wanted or cared about how they look, I would checkout "Fencing supply businesses." There are many ways to make your panels blend into the surroundings. You could also buy siding, like what is on your house, make long boxes from it, and cover your mounting posts.

These are not "aesthetic" but more experimental / utilitarian.

At my off grid work shop, I use this setup to generate power all day long. Obviously needs some clean up. It is just panels mounted to a metro style rack with wheels. 2 panels facing vertical, 1 facing up. I flip it around depending on morning or afternoon. In the photo, it is later in the afternoon.

The other is an experimental design I did as part of a disaster relief setup. I do some volunteer work in disaster relief.

I built it for a burning man group to take up to test, but in the end, they didn't for various reasons. You can see that the drought was hitting hard that year. It is just a 6 ft electricians ladder with some 2x4 pieces, and a DIY power system.

My portable unit which works fine for pumping water from the well or powering a heat-pump in the summer for aircon i.e. for Summer use, only.

 

[wpns]

My 400W bifacial panels, too, are mounted vertically between steel fence posts East/West facing. I live in NE South Dakota, and I am satisfied with the PV output from them.

Do you find that the front or back makes significantly more power than the other side? Does it matter where they are pointing if you have batteries?

 

[davesmith87]

ur location. The only people who benefit from vertically mounting panels are those who live in the extreme North or South and get lots of snow in the winter.

 

[HarryN]

Do you find that the front or back makes significantly more power than the other side? Does it matter where they are pointing if you have batteries?

It does for my use.

The battery pack needs to have enough capacity to run all loads from the time the sunlight capture ends in the afternoon, all night, and enough to make breakfast and coffee in the morning.

So if I am working into the evening, then having useful sunlight capture going until 6 pm vs 2 pm is a big deal.

I can run on a much smaller battery pack by having panels facing the sun as many hours as possible, vs relying on them charging over just a few hours time. Panels are simple and cheap, compared to adding batteries to make up for them facing the wrong direction ( generation vs load power use )

 

[rhino]

Do you find that the front or back makes significantly more power than the other side? Does it matter where they are pointing if you have batteries?

These are 480W panels. Back side only produced max 160W:

 

[sunshine_eggo]

At 35° latitude on the new PVWatts:

I modeled my existing array with latitude tilt, 180° azimuth and yielded 5.34MWh/year

I modeled my existing array as vertical E and then as vertical W and added them and yielded 5.24MWh/year

The E+W model isn't accurate because you do not get the same output from the backside as the front, but I have no means of simulation. Most examples I have seen show the vertical array orientation staggered with alternating E/W facings, so the "exposed" panel is the same.

My winter numbers were worse for E+W vs. S, and the E+W number was idealized, so it will be notably lower.

Conclusion: For those looking to add supplemental E/W array for morning/evening production, vertical E/W bifacial panels are likely the best bang for the buck. If you want more uniform morning/evening production, alternate panel facing. If you want to weight it towards one or the other, favor facing E/W as applicable.

 

[SpeakItAloud]

Do you find that the front or back makes significantly more power than the other side? Does it matter where they are pointing if you have batteries?

I have the backside facing East, because I know that the morning Sun has less strength than when the Sun is in the West where the higher conversion side faces. So, that was the reasoning behind my setup of the panels. I have batteries, and I would have to say that where I am located it makes a difference where they are pointing, because right not in the Winter season, very little direct sunlight ever hits the panels: weeks of overcast in a row....

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I have the backside facing East, because I know that the morning Sun has less strength than when the Sun is in the West where the higher conversion side faces. So, that was the reasoning behind my setup of the panels. I have batteries, and I would have to say that where I am located it makes no difference where they are pointing.

This is typically not the case on an annual production basis. Evening may be HOTTER, but irradiance is often lower because of greater atmospheric particulates due to more active weather patterns and some say human activity.

When I simulate my 2.97kW array @ 35° latitude (in AZ) E vs. W, I yield about 2.7MWh to the East vs. 2.4MWh to the West.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

But... I would likely choose West over East due to the HOTTER factor, i.e., I need to run the A/C when it's hot, which means afternoon into the evening and even the night!

 

[SpeakItAloud]

At 35° latitude on the new PVWatts:

I modeled my existing array with latitude tilt, 180° azimuth and yielded 5.34MWh/year

I modeled my existing array as vertical E and then as vertical W and added them and yielded 5.24MWh/year

The E+W model isn't accurate because you do not get the same output from the backside as the front, but I have no means of simulation. Most examples I have seen show the vertical array orientation staggered with alternating E/W facings, so the "exposed" panel is the same.

My winter numbers were worse for E+W vs. S, and the E+W number was idealized, so it will be notably lower.

Conclusion: For those looking to add supplemental E/W array for morning/evening production, vertical E/W bifacial panels are likely the best bang for the buck. If you want more uniform morning/evening production, alternate panel facing. If you want to weight it towards one or the other, favor facing E/W as applicable.

My hinge mounted solar panels which are currently hang vertically on the South side of my machinery shed, so as the Sun gets higher in the sky, I just raise the bottoms to follow the Sun's azimuth, keeping the Sun-to-panel at 90°
I have found that the vertical E/W bifacial panels take up the "slack" for when those panels are not at 90°, in that the Sun hitting those panels at a glancing angle.
I have 42 more panels (some bifacial, some regular) to mount yet when the weather will allow outside work. Wind and -40° F to 10° temperatures (normal or wind chill) are NOT conducive to working outside in the Winter. I live at 45.86° lat.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Wind and -40° F to 10° temperatures (normal or wind chill) are NOT conducive to working outside in the Winter. I live at 45.86° lat.

Ew... just ew....

 

[littleharbor2]

This is typically not the case on an annual production basis. Evening may be HOTTER, but irradiance is often lower because of greater atmospheric particulates due to more active weather patterns and some say human activity.

When I simulate my 2.97kW array @ 35° latitude (in AZ) E vs. W, I yield about 2.7MWh to the East vs. 2.4MWh to the West.

I agree with the east over the west down here in eastern Baja, (Sea of Cortez side). We typically get cooler, clear mornings with plenty of sun intensity. Afternoons can be quite hot and sometimes hazy skies from desert dust.

 

[mciholas]

The E+W model isn't accurate because you do not get the same output from the backside as the front, but I have no means of simulation.

PVwatts has a bifacial model option under "Advanced Parameters". With "Fixed (open array)" for array type, 10 KW, my latitude, I get the following:

Bifacial off: 6825 KWH per year

Bifacial on: 10839 KWH per year

Difference is 4014 KWH, or 59% more energy when bifacial is turned on.

If I face the panels west, the numbers are:

Bifacial off: 6420 KWH per year

Bifacial on: 10641 KWH per year

Difference is 4221 KWH, 66% more energy than bifacial off.

So the direction makes a difference.

If you do alternating panels, model half the array east, half west, and then add the results.

If you do the best angle, which is 30 degrees for me, you get 13,990 bifacial off, 14,599 KWH bifacial on, 609 more KWH, 4.3% gain for bifacial, not much. Still, the total energy is significantly higher if you do a fixed sloped install.

Mike C.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Thanks!

Using the above, I simulated my array as bifacial vertical facing due East.

4.3MWh bifacial E vs. 5.3MWh south, non-bi-facial.

So, this is stronger evidence that E/W bifacial will never outperform optimal due South array, but it still supports the claim that E/W bifacial is the most cost effective option when looking to supplement early/late production with E/W arrays, i.e., a single bifacial vertical array will cost less than two equivalent non-bifacial tilted E/W arrays.