These are some basic setup options that are available for home solar. Solar panels are great but need to be placed in a specific way to attain their best effieiency.

The panels must be located facing south, the can be in a slightly south west orientation but may not be most efficient.

They must be angled toward the sun to receive the most amount of light. They can be mounted on a pivot to adjust for the seasons. the problem with that is if the panels needed to be moved they must be placed where they are easy to get at. Ground based systems are good for this but roof mounted can be difficult. For static systels you can use the following guidlines.

Find your latitude and angel the panels from the ground with that degree. If you live at 42 degrees place the panels at a 42 degree angle from the ground. Since they will be fixed you are using the angle as an average. The panels should receive the averaged amount of sunlight.