Tilt your solar panels to 33.5° facing south in Marina del Rey. That is the most efficient fixed angle for its latitude of 33.98°. The full breakdown, including seasonal and monthly adjustments, is below.
Today, the most efficient tilt for photovoltaic panels in Marina del Rey is 29.8°, facing south. At solar noon the sun sits 60.2° 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 south. Marina del Rey is in the northern hemisphere, so panels catch the most sun facing south.
If you're mounting the photovoltaic panels at a stationary angle, such as on your roof, the most efficient angle is 33.5°.
If you're planning to change the angle of your photovoltaic panels twice per year, the most efficient angle is 10.6° facing south in summer months and 48.9° facing south in winter months.
When changing the angle of your photovoltaic panels each season, the most efficient angle is 7° facing south in summer months and 54.2° facing south in winter months, and 31° facing south in autumn and spring months.
If you adjust your photovoltaic panels every month, the table below gives the most efficient angle for Marina del Rey throughout the year. The shallowest angle is 10.6° in June, and the steepest is 57.4° in December.
| Month | Optimal tilt | Sun angle at noon |
|---|---|---|
| January | 54.1° | 35.9° |
| February | 45.2° | 44.8° |
| March | 34.4° | 55.6° |
| April | 22.4° | 67.6° |
| May | 13.9° | 76.1° |
| June | 10.6° | 79.4° |
| July | 13.6° | 76.4° |
| August | 22.2° | 67.8° |
| September | 34.2° | 55.8° |
| October | 45.8° | 44.2° |
| November | 54.4° | 35.6° |
| December | 57.4° | 32.6° |
The sun angle at noon is how high the sun sits above the horizon at midday. Facing your panels south 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.
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It comes out of your latitude. Marina del Rey sits at 33.98°, which puts the best fixed angle at 33.5°. Near the equator the midday sun is almost overhead, so panels lie close to flat, around 3°. 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 31°, 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 Marina del Rey, 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: