Tilt your solar panels to 22.9° facing north in San Pedro de Atacama. That is the most efficient fixed angle for its latitude of -22.91°. The full breakdown, including seasonal and monthly adjustments, is below.
Today, the most efficient tilt for photovoltaic panels in San Pedro de Atacama is 19.5°, facing north. At solar noon the sun sits 70.5° above the horizon. Setting your panels to this angle keeps them as close to perpendicular to the sun as possible, which is where they generate the most electricity.
Your photovoltaic panels need to be angled facing north. San Pedro de Atacama is in the southern hemisphere, so panels catch the most sun facing north.
If you're mounting the photovoltaic panels at a stationary angle, such as on your roof, the most efficient angle is 22.9°.
If you're planning to change the angle of your photovoltaic panels twice per year, the most efficient angle is 0.3° facing north in summer months and 39.2° facing north in winter months.
When changing the angle of your photovoltaic panels each season, the most efficient angle is 3.2° facing south in summer months and 44.4° facing north in winter months, and 20.2° facing north in autumn and spring months.
If you adjust your photovoltaic panels every month, the table below gives the most efficient angle for San Pedro de Atacama throughout the year. The shallowest angle is 0.5° in December, and the steepest is 46.3° in June.
| Month | Optimal tilt | Facing | Sun angle at noon |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2.8° | North | 87.2° |
| February | 11.7° | North | 78.3° |
| March | 22.5° | North | 67.5° |
| April | 34.5° | North | 55.5° |
| May | 43.0° | North | 47.0° |
| June | 46.3° | North | 43.7° |
| July | 43.3° | North | 46.7° |
| August | 34.7° | North | 55.3° |
| September | 22.7° | North | 67.3° |
| October | 11.1° | North | 78.9° |
| November | 2.5° | North | 87.5° |
| December | 0.5° | South | 89.5° |
The sun angle at noon is how high the sun sits above the horizon at midday. Facing your panels north at the tilt shown for each month keeps them as close to perpendicular to the sun as possible, which is where they generate the most electricity.
It comes out of your latitude. San Pedro de Atacama sits at -22.91°, which puts the best fixed angle at 22.9°. Near the equator the midday sun is almost overhead, so panels lie close to flat, around 2°. The further from the equator you are, the lower the sun sits, and the steeper your panels have to stand to face it squarely.
The climb is not one for one. At 30° of latitude the best fixed tilt is about 28°, but at 60° of latitude it is about 46°, not 60°. The optimum flattens off toward the poles because the winter sun is low and much of the light arriving is diffuse rather than direct. Most pages on this site quote a figure PVGIS measured at the place itself; it had no answer for San Pedro de Atacama, so this one comes from a curve fitted to that measured data instead. See how it compares with tilt equals latitude.
The angle is settled. Here is what is worth checking on the panels themselves: