Wall-Mounted Solar Panels: Maximising Energy Efficiency with Limited Roof Space

When roof space is fully utilised, it’s time to think outside the box—or in this case, beyond the roof. If your tile roof or industrial warehouse’s metal roof is already hosting solar panels, there’s no need to stop there. The sun shines on other parts of your property too, including west-, east-, and south-facing walls, offering untapped opportunities to generate green energy.

Wall-mounted solar panels are an excellent solution for properties where roof space is limited. With suitable mounting kits, you can safely install solar panels ranging from 400W to 660W on building facades. Even a single panel can make a difference—paired with micro-inverters, it can directly power your home with solar energy for self-consumption.

Benefits of Wall-Mounted Solar Panels

• Optimise Building Space: Walls that face the sun become productive assets, especially in areas like southwest-facing walls that receive substantial sunlight.
• Energy Generation from Minimal Space: Whether you install one panel or an entire array, each unit contributes to reducing your electricity bills and carbon footprint.
• Enhanced Performance: Micro-inverters assigned to each panel maximise efficiency by 20%, ensuring optimal energy output regardless of shading or adjacent panel performance.
• Innovative Design Options: For communal areas like staircases, semi-transparent solar panels can double as a source of natural light and warmth while generating kilowatts of clean energy for the building’s electrical system.

Example in Action

In Alicante, Spain, a resort hotel installed wall-mounted solar panels on its southwest-facing wall, producing 10kWp of electricity. Previously wasted sunlight now powers the property efficiently, demonstrating the potential of wall-mounted solar arrays. For setups with over 10 panels, a string inverter may be ideal, but when space is tight, micro-inverters ensure every bit of sunlight is harnessed effectively.

This picture contains only 3 massive solar panels, with a peak power 550watt each

3 Solar panels with half-cut cells, monocrystalline technology. The Elite Solar Panels will generate nearly 60% of their rated power on this side of the building

Simple Electrical Installation

Once the panels are mounted, the electrical setup is straightforward. Micro-inverters are the preferred solution for small- to medium-sized installations, as they optimise individual panel performance. For larger installations, string inverters become more suitable, connecting multiple panels to a single Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) system for efficient energy conversion.