Our installation team just completed a 16.34kW east-west facing installation in North Seattle. We installed 21 Silfab 380W modules facing east and 22 modules facing west.
Many people think their roofline won’t work for solar because it doesn’t face directly south. That’s not accurate. Solar works a bit differently here in our region than in other parts of the country, in part because of our northern latitude. There is a drop-off in production with east-west installations, but it can be as little as 10% depending on the pitch of the roof. Our summer temperatures are cooler than other parts of the country. (Solar performs better when its cooler.) Because of our northern latitude, we get little solar exposure in the winter but some of the longest days with sunlight in the summertime. All these variables combine to make solar in the Pacific Northwest unique and viable, even if your roof does not face directly south.
On this installation, our customer selected Made in Washington, Silfab 380 watt modules and we paired them with 43 Enphase IQ7+ microinverters mounted on IronRidge FlashFoot2 flashing mounts and IronRidge XR-100 rails.
There are four strings (groups) of solar panels that come together electrically in an Enphase combiner box that connects to an AC (alternating current) disconnect panel and then right into the homeowners primary electrical panel. There is module-level solar monitoring on this system.
So, if you’re considering solar but aren’t sure if you have a good solar roofline, give us a call. Our experienced design team can accurately predict how much energy solar can produce each year at your home or business.
