在房屋建设中，你可以做很多事情来利用太阳能提供的免费能源。That can bepassive solar, which is about home orientation and window design to passively heat your home, oractive solarwhich involves mechanical solar panel systems.

Solar panels can be either thermal (which transfer heat directly to your home), or photovoltaic (which convert sunlight into electrical energy). The angle at which you put either type of panel will determine how well they perform.The following is an excerpt from a piece written by Hugh Perry, provided courtesy of ecoHouse Canada Magazine.

The direction and angle of solar panels:

Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane (the earth), and another plane or axis of direction (the solar panel). This is referred to as ‘incidence angle’. If the earth’s rotation around the sun were fixed instead of its wobbling pattern, all parts of the earth would have one specific season instead of four.

地球的纬度决定了季节的变化，因此，在一年的不同时间设置电池板的最佳角度。因此，有两个角度或倾角被提及，它们经常被混淆。一个与面板的前面有关，另一个与后面有关。沟通这些角度的一个简单方法是从地面开始向上工作。

The front ‘inclination’ is the angle of the sun to the earth.
The rear inclination is the ‘tilt’ of the panel relative to the earth.

由于太阳的入射角在六个月的周期内每天都在变化，所以当不使用太阳跟踪器时，太阳能电池板的平均倾斜是必要的。由于重量问题，追踪器不适用于热板，但可用于光伏板。Solar trackersfollow the sun’s path across the sky and can track the daily changes in incidence.

A general rule for capturing direct solar energy when not using a tracker, is to tilt the panel up from the earth as follows:

  • Dec. 21 - latitude (assume 45°) plus 20° to 35°
  • Feb. 21 & Nov. 21 - latitude plus 10° (This is an ideal fall and winter setting, as February is the coldest month and November has the least sunlight.)
  • March 21 & Sept.21 - equal to latitude
  • June 21 - latitude less 20° (However if heating water or air the additional heat may not be desired.)

The earth orbits the sun in an elliptical cycle becoming closest to the sun on the winter solstice resulting in the greater solar irradiance (the amount of solar radiation striking a surface). For this reason, solar thermal panels can experience the most intense production of heat.

Hugh Perry, senior mechanical inspector, Norr Limited.