Balcony Solar Orientation: South to North

In short

Mounted vertically on the railing, a south-facing balcony in Kassel, Germany yields about 720 kWh per kWp a year. Southeast and southwest trail only slightly at 93 % and 92 %, east or west reach about 71 %, north 27 %. The gap widens in winter: from December to February, vertical south delivers 115 kWh per kWp, vertical north 14.

Yield by direction

On a balcony, the direction matters more than anything else, and more than on a roof. The reason is the angle: on a railing, modules usually hang vertically. A vertical surface only gets sun from the front, while a tilted one also sees a lot of sky. The table shows both, calculated for the same location.

Direction	vertical 90°: kWh/year	vs. south	of which Dec–Feb	tilted 30°: kWh/year	vs. south	of which Dec–Feb
South	720	100 %	115	1010	100 %	105
Southeast	673	93 %	88	958	95 %	91
Southwest	666	92 %	88	955	95 %	91
East	511	71 %	43	825	82 %	61
West	506	70 %	42	819	81 %	62
Northeast	301	42 %	15	662	66 %	37
Northwest	306	43 %	15	657	65 %	37
North	195	27 %	14	586	58 %	33
East-west, half each	508	71 %	42	822	81 %	62

Calculated with PVGIS 5.3 (PVcalc), radiation data PVGIS-SARAH3 2005–2023, PVGIS © European Union. Reference location Kassel, Germany (51.31° N, 9.48° E), 1 kWp crystalline modules, 14 % system losses, open horizon without shading, queried on October 16, 2026. The inverter's 800-watt limit is not included. Values are per kWp of module power; multiply by 0.8 for 800 Wp.

To scale it to your system: a vertical south balcony with 800 Wp of modules would come to about 576 kWh a year at this location, a vertical north balcony to about 156 kWh. Real years vary up and down with the weather.

South is best, southeast and southwest nearly as good

A south-facing balcony gives the highest annual yield. Turning 45 degrees away costs little, though: mounted vertically, southeast and southwest deliver 93 % and 92 % of the south value. Whether east or west does a bit better depends on location and weather; in the PVGIS data for Kassel the two are almost even.

East-west balcony solar

With half the modules facing east and half facing west, the annual yield is the average of both sides: 71 % of the south value vertically, 81 % tilted. What the table doesn't show is the spread over the day. East produces in the morning, west in the afternoon and evening. Output is spread over more hours, and more of it falls into times when the household uses power anyway. Whether that makes up for the lower annual yield depends on your daily consumption, not on the direction alone.

Balcony solar facing north: does it make sense?

Facing north vertically, Kassel gets about 195 kWh per kWp a year, just over a quarter of the south value. Almost all of it is diffuse skylight; direct sun only hits a vertical north surface from the side on summer mornings and evenings. Tilted, it looks different: at 30 degrees even the north side reaches 586 kWh per kWp, 58 % of the tilted south value, because the surface then sees more sky.

Whether it pays off comes down to price, yield and your electricity rate: expected yield times the share you use yourself times your rate per kWh gives the annual savings. At a quarter of the south yield, it takes correspondingly longer to earn back the purchase.

Winter yield

In winter the sun is low. At noon on the shortest day it climbs only about 15 degrees above the horizon in Kassel. Vertical modules facing south stand almost face-on to that low sun. That is why vertical south delivers 115 kWh per kWp from December to February, even more than a 30-degree tilt at 105 kWh. That is 16 % of the annual yield, versus only 10 % at 30 degrees.

This doesn't apply to east, west or north: vertical east gets only 43 kWh per kWp in winter, north 14. And because the sun is so low, even a modest obstacle across the street blocks direct sun in winter. How tilt and shading interact is covered in the guide tilt angle on a balcony railing.

Last reviewed: 2026-10-16

The matching app

Measure your orientation with BalkonWatt

The tables assume an open sky. On your balcony, whatever stands across the street matters too, and a compass on a metal railing is often off. BalkonWatt measures both with your iPhone.

Orientation: hold the iPhone against the railing and the app names the direction in words and degrees. If the railing throws off the compass, you sight the sun to calibrate.
Tilt: lay the iPhone on the module and the angle locks in by itself.
Shading: pan the camera from east through south to west and tap the top edges of buildings and trees. The sun's path on the longest and the shortest day is drawn into the view.
The calculation uses PVGIS radiation data stored in the app, so it works offline.

The measurement, the annual yield and the first-year savings are free. BalkonWatt Pro adds, among other things, the tilt optimizer and a recommendation for two module directions.

More about BalkonWatt

Frequent questions

Which direction is best for balcony solar?

South. Mounted vertically on the railing, a south balcony in Kassel yields about 720 kWh per kWp a year according to PVGIS. Southeast and southwest reach just over 90 percent of that, east and west about 70 percent.

Is east-west balcony solar worth it?

East-west yields somewhat less per year than south, about 71 % of the south value when vertical. In return, output is spread over morning and afternoon, so more of it falls into times when you use power yourself. Whether it pays off depends on your consumption and the price of the system.

Does balcony solar make sense on the north side?

Facing north vertically, you get only about 195 kWh per kWp a year, just over a quarter of the south value. Tilted at 30 degrees it is 586 kWh per kWp. It takes correspondingly longer to earn back the purchase.

How much does balcony solar produce in winter?

Vertical south in Kassel yields about 115 kWh per kWp from December to February, 16 % of the annual total. Facing east or west it is just over 40, facing north 14 kWh per kWp.

Southeast or southwest: which is better?

They are almost even. Vertically, southeast delivers 93 % and southwest 92 % of the south value. What usually decides it is which side has less shade.

South, East-West or North?