Solar panels are slowly outdoing other eco-friendly power systems in American household power trends. Solar power is naturally generated, making it cheap and eco-friendly. Most homeowners mount solar panels on top of their roofs because of limited yard spacing. Many homes don’t have yards large enough to accommodate ground-mounted units. Are you wondering whether your roofing system is fit for installing a solar panel? Read on to discover more.
Hours of Shade
Modern solar panels are super-efficient and powerful. They can charge your solar energy storage system even with minimal sunlight exposure. However, this approach may not work if your solar panels don’t receive enough sunlight to charge your systems properly. That’s why you should never forget to check how many hours of sunlight the solar panels would be exposed to.
If the roof system experiences more hours of shade than light, don’t think of installing a solar panel on it. Otherwise, the solar system won’t deliver its optimal best, and you may never get enough energy to power your devices. Consult with one of our qualified solar panel installers to examine your roofing system’s suitability before purchasing a system.
Roof’s Orientation and Pitch
The productivity of solar-energy panels depends largely on the orientation of the roofing system. Your roof’s positioning determines how many hours of sunlight exposure the panels receive daily. For homes in the northern hemisphere, position the solar panels true south to allow the solar system to get more hours of sunlight. Solar panels facing that direction receive maximum and direct sunlight exposure all day. Panels facing west or east receive about 80% sunlight exposure.
The roofing system’s pitch directly affects solar panel arrangement. Position your solar panels at a 30-to-45-degree angle for maximum power generation. Steep roofs make it difficult to install solar panels and limit how effectively they produce energy.
Current Roof’s Age
An old roof may not have the capacity to hold a multi-panel solar system for long. In fact, the heavy weight may cause the untimely collapse of such a roofing system. Furthermore, installing your new solar system on an old roofing system wouldn’t make financial sense. That’s because the roof won’t last long and may need replacement after a few years, which comes with the extra costs of uninstalling and reinstalling the solar system. Have your roofer replace the old roofing system before you install the solar system.
Roofing Material
Your solar system installer will tell you that your roof material determines the solar panel installation costs. Some roofs are extra-sensitive to weight increases and easily collapse when overburdened with more weight. Composite shingles offer perfect support for easy mounting of most types and sizes of solar systems.
Tiles used most often in roofing systems are made of clay, concrete, metal, ceramic, synthetic cedar, and slate. However, these tiles can be too lightweight to bear the load or too brittle. Consequently, the installer removes these tiles from the installation area and replaces them with composite shingles or some other suitable type of material. The panels are installed on top of the substitutes.
Metal standing seams offer some of the most cost-effective and reliable ways to mount solar panels. With the standing seams, you can quickly and easily attach the solar panels without needing to drill anything. Tar, gravel, and wooden roofs may not be suitable as they are mostly flat and need extra brackets.
Square Footage
In sizing your solar system, the installers at Loyalty Exterior Solutions often consider the roof’s total square footage. We properly size and set up solar panels in our client’s homes in Needham, MA & the surrounding areas. Many solar units we install in residential areas are 5 kilowatts, which is roughly 20 pieces of 250-watt panels.
In most cases, every kW of solar energy will need about 100 square feet of the roofing system. Remember, not all sections of your roofing system are usable. Roof sections featuring damaged lines and panes won’t offer usable spacing.
If you have enough sunshine, solar power is the way to go. It’s widely adopted by millions of homeowners in the United States. If you’re disappointed by the unreliability of grid power, talk with our experienced technicians at Loyalty Exterior Solutions so that we can size and install a solar system suiting your home’s power needs.
We’re a top-notch roofing company offering various services, including metal and shingle roofing services. We also install, repair and maintain decks, siding, and gutter systems. Our premium roof repairs, installations and replacements match every client’s needs. Contact Loyalty Exterior Solutions for quick pricing and service guidance in and around Needham, MA.
