North Facing Solar Panels:

If you are preparing to place solar panels on your roof, the direction that the panels are facing is going to be very important with regards to the optimum energy production.  For people who live in the United States or Canada, it is best to face the solar panels in a South or South-Western direction.  This will ensure maximum electricity is being made each day from the sun.

It is still possible to have great benefits if the solar panels are not able to face south.  If you have to face the solar panels to the north, you should realize that there is going to be energy loss due to indirect sunlight hitting the surface of the photovoltaic modules (panels).  What you can do to counteract this, is to place what is called a solar backup underneath the panels themselves.  This will elevate the edge of the panel that is farthest away from the home so it now will be actually facing south.

North Facing Solar Panels in The Summer:

During the summer months in the United States and Canada, a north facing solar panel is going to attract much more sunlight and is also going to produce more energy.  This is the case will all solar systems during the summer months and the obvious reason is that there is more sunlight hours during that time of year.  What might be beneficial to investigate is flattening out the angle of the panels so they are more parallel to the ground during the summer months.  Be sure to have identical angles of each panel, because you do not want some panels to be different angles towards the sun as it will lower the efficiency of the overall system.