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You'd be surprised by how much difference a solar panel angle adjustment makes – I certainly was.
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
October 23, 2026, 6:00 am ET
Aside from rising product costs, the second-biggest issue with solar panels is positioning them to capture as much sunlight as possible. I’ve had two 410W rigid solar panels in my backyard for over a year now, and they’ve been outstanding, except for one issue: fluctuating energy output with the changing seasons.
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The solar panels are in a south-facing backyard, but the area is entirely lined with trees. Even with optimal positioning, the panels don’t always get direct sunlight, especially when the trees are leafy during warmer months. I thought the problem could be mitigated if we were able to move the panels, so my husband and I put together a rig with adjustable mounts.
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My husband and I are always testing different spots in our backyard to place the panels for maximum efficiency, but so far we haven’t found a permanent solution. This is where the solar panel mount came in, allowing the panels to be moved anywhere in the yard, as well as tilting them up and down as needed.
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So how does it work? We built the rectangular frame with four pieces of 2-by-4 wood. The entire structure is about four feet by nine feet. We bought four heavy-duty caster wheels for the bottom so that we can move the panels as needed in our backyard.
Then, we installed a pair of mounts on each panel and attached the hardware to the rig. The mounts can be adjusted to higher or lower angles, so we can optimize the panels’ position according to the sun’s position during the transition to winter.
The panels are a couple of inches apart, so they don’t touch at any point, allowing us to move them without restriction or risk of contact. Aside from some strategic measuring and help carrying the panels, this was one of the easiest projects we’ve ever put together.
The return was almost immediate. The next day, we saw a 100 Wh increase in solar input. The following day, we saw an increase of almost 200Wh. Before this setup, we were getting a decent amount of solar input from our panels, but then the seasons changed, and we hadn’t been able to move them around.
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Recently, we averaged 354 Wh per day from our solar panels, which is less than ideal, and the whole reason why we wanted to fix their positioning issue. The 820W solar panel setup can generate between 1.97 and 3.3kWh per day, so optimizing its position would help us save considerably.
We have to tinker with the setup to position it just right since it’s only been three days, but we’ve already seen an increase in solar input that nearly doubles our previous average.
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Initially, we were saving around $200 a year with our six solar panels, including these two and four portable ones. Optimizing this system could double or triple the efficiency for these two panels specifically, potentially increasing our savings by almost twice as much.
Depending on how many solar panels you have and their capacity, a DIY setup can potentially save you hundreds of dollars a year.
We have a whole-home backup system with the EcoFlow Smart Home Panel 2 and SHP1 for our electrical panels. The system automatically uses solar energy from the panels and stores it in our EcoFlow Delta Pro Ultra X under a time-of-use schedule, which in turn helps us save money on utilities.
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This works by storing energy harvested by portable solar panels at a power station and discharging it during peak electricity-rate hours. So far, I haven’t had any issues with the rig, so I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. In the short term, I’m looking forward to seeing how much we can save on our utility bill after playing around with positioning, but I’ll likely make other similar setups when we expand the solar panel array we have.
While far from perfect, the rig has proven to be a great way to improve my backyard solar setup, especially since laws that legalize plug-in solar are stalled in the Senate in my state.
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