Vertical Bifacial Solar Panel Performance Results Part 1 on HackerTube: recommended by 3 Hacker News commenters across 3 separate months, 2024–2025.
demo · evergreen
A hobbyist compares vertical bifacial solar panels against south-facing angled panels using winter production results. It tests whether the usual mounting approach is actually best.
HN points to it as real-world, side-by-side data on vertical versus angled panel orientation.
“this person did a side by side experiment on their property with both angled and vertical bifacial with some interesting results.”
5 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.
There seems to be a real interesting mix of pros and cons (total watts generated through the year, by time of day, susceptibility to dirt and hail damage, reflections, etc.), especially with regards to mounting. This guy goes into a lot of detail: ▶ this video
in “100-MW solar farm just broke ground in Wisconsin” · View on HN
▶ this video this person did a side by side experiment on their property with both angled and vertical bifacial with some interesting results. Their advantage didn't seem to be efficiency but consistency.
in “Swiss satellite antennas make a comeback as solar powerhouses” · View on HN
You'll still get more output for the same amount of panels when they're tilted in most places. This guy did some interesting real-world testing in a bunch of different circumstances - ▶ this video
in “Controlling 3.6kW of Solar EV Charging with an Arduino GIGA R1 WiFi” · View on HN
This guy compared different orientations: ▶ this video His conclusion is the vertical generate about 70% of optimal incline cells. The charge profile has two peaks, one in the morning, one in the evening. I can imagine using the vertical orientation for a fence. It would definitely keep them cleaner too.
in “Offgrid Electric Car” · View on HN
There is research coming out that vertical solar panels are more efficient. I think part of it comes from lower temps allowing for more efficient operating. No tracking or pointing required. Less cleaning as its not a flat surface for dust or fall impacts. ▶ this video edit: I see others have linked similar videos, all good sources on this topic.
in “Can solar costs keep shrinking?” · View on HN