Daily insights for city builders, delivered every morning at 6 AM ET. I’m Brandon Donnelly — a Toronto-based real estate developer and founder of Globizen. I’ve been writing here since 2013.

Vertical solar panels

Ordinarily, solar panels make the most sense on the roof of a building. This is often where you can harvest the most solar energy. But sometimes it can make sense to install them vertically, like in the case of the above building in Scuol, Switzerland. I am by no means an expert on solar, but I am told that this can make sense in snowy climates (where rooftop panels are likely to get covered) and in northern locations where the lower angle of the sun means a vertical position actually catches the sun more effectively (especially during the winter months). It could also be the case that you just don’t have any available roof space. Either way, you have to look at and model out the entire year when it comes to solar.

2 responses to “Vertical solar panels”

  1. Myron Nebozuk Avatar
    Myron Nebozuk

    I think vertical solar also makes sense in warmer climates, especially if you can cover three or four facades with the panels. Years ago, Lawrence Scarpa completed a pretty fabulous multi-family low rise building in Los Angeles with vertical solar panels. I think that the springboard for the design was the size of the panel his firm choose. The end result was impressive and left a lasting impression on me.

  2. T-Bone Avatar
    T-Bone

    I recently toured this companies factory in Etobicoke, really neat to see this stuff made here. Maybe something you would consider as part of the balcony glass for the Bench dev? https://www.mitrex.com/

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