What Type of Roof Is Best for Solar Panels?
When deciding to install solar panels for your home, the first thing you’ll need to determine is whether you have a good roof for solar. Luckily, even if your roof is not ideal for solar, our experts at Solar Bear Tampa can help find alternate solutions for your solar panel installation needs, depending on your HOA’s rules and regulations regarding solar.
When considering whether your roof is good for solar installation, there are several aspects to keep in mind.
Roof slant and pitch angle are key because if the angle of the roof is too acute, the solar panels will be difficult to install, and having to mount the heavy crystalline solar panels on a slant will cause them to be less effective overall. On the other hand, if your roof is totally flat, this can pose a problem as well, since solar panels need to be installed on a bit of a slant in order to avoid accumulating water damage. The best roof angle for installing solar panels is between 30 and 45 degrees.
Another important aspect of your roof to consider is the material it is made out of. Generally speaking, composite roofing solutions like traditional asphalt shingles, are the best material to install solar panels onto, because the material for this type of roofing is typically already installed on a slant, and because the durability of this material makes it a good candidate to support the weight and heft of each solar panel. Another decent roofing material is tile, although this can be difficult and expensive to replace when installation is finished.
The best option for installing solar panels on your roof, all aspects considered, is a metal standing seam roof. These types of roofs are ideal for solar because they tend to be pitched at the correct angle for solar, because the gauge of the metal can be increased to make sure that the heaviness of the solar panels does not crush or damage the roof. In addition, a metal standing seam roof does not require solar installers to drill into the roof, meaning that there is less overall potential for damage.
Even if you don’t have a metal standing seam roof, there are plenty of good roofing options for installing solar panels and solar power systems. Even if your roof is not ideal, our team of friendly experts at Solar Bear Tampa can help you determine where in your home or yard is the best place for solar to be installed. Call us today and we will set up a consultation!