Solar Panels: Does compass direction matter?

[mcsproot]

I think IRL solar panels are built facing south to maximise exposure to the sun as it rises in the east and sets in the west. Does this matter in Empyrion, or is it enough to put them flat on the roof?

[softwalker001]

Very much so . Depending on the planet it can be tricky to find where the Sun paths for max output.
There are a couple good threads and guides, if you search.

[VulcanTourist]

When you can face east or west in a spot and the sun traces an arc directly overhead, that latitude is the planet's "solar equator". Flat panels will work best there, when placed with minimum obstacles like mountains (and trees?). Panels built substantially north of that latitude should be sloped with the slope facing south, and those substantially south of it should be sloped and facing north. If you're forced to build in a location that is near the solar equator but deep in the shadow of a mountain to the east or west, then it might be optimal to use sloped panels facing away from the mountain to catch as much sun as possible when out of the shade.

I call it the solar equator because, even though planets now have a simulated axial tilt, they still don't have seasons, so the latitude at which the sun is perpendicular never changes. It's as if the planets also have an axial wobble that precisely matches its rotation (or something).