Before you undertake the installation of solar panels on your roof there are a few things that you first need to look at. There can be building, municipal, or homeowner’s codes that may be in force in your area and dictate where and how you can install roof panels. They may require a permit.
Ideally your roof in the northern hemisphere must have a south facing, space that does not get any shade, and sloped at 30 degrees. A typical home requires about 5 kW of energy and this will require your roof to have a space for at least 500 square feet, with the correct orientation. If you do not have this on the roof, you can also opt for a ground installation that needs to be kept out of view from outside the property. Orientation and angles of the panels can be managed with the proper structures on which the panels are installed.
A Guide to Installing Solar Panels : Longevity
Solar panels and their supporting structures will impose additional loads on your roof, and it is best you get its structural ability checked, especially if you have a roof that is old. Remember solar panels can last for 20 or 30 years, and your roof must be able to support it for that length of time. Panels and their supports can weigh as much as 4 pounds per square foot and the load must be evenly distributed over your roof. If your roof needs any strengthening take this up before you start your installation work.
A five hundred square feet of solar panel installation will require a proper grid work of supporting stanchions and accessories to fix this framework properly to the roof so that your panels have the correct orientation and angle to the sun. Ideally your panels should have the sun shining on them at right angles. It is possible to have adjustable framework that moves along with the sun, but this can greatly increase your cost, and probably weight of the installation because of the additional sensors and rotating equipment. The framework of stanchions needs to be firmly fixed to the roof and its supporting members. For this, it is necessary that once you have marked the location of the panels and its supporting structure on the roof, you correctly locate the right supporting member of the roof and find ways to access it or drill through to it.
A Guide to Installing Solar Panels : Roof Support
Match these locations with the fixing points in the supporting solar panel framework and create any fixing arrangements in it. If your framework is too heavy or unwieldy, you may need to create it on the roof through the fixing that you do. In this case you have to make sure that your framework is properly square and will match the fixing points in the panels. A framework prepared earlier will allow you to dummy mount the panels to make sure that they are correctly located. All points that penetrate the roof must have proper flashing and other measures to ensure that they do not become points of leakage.
Once the framework is installed correctly, you will be required to run the electrical wiring that will connect up your panels and any micro-inverter if you are installing these below each solar panel. Make sure that you also have the grounding wire in place that will ground the entire installed system.
Now set up each of the panels on your installed framework at its correct location and connect up each panel in the array. Make sure that the retaining clips that hold the panel to your framework are secured properly.
Now complete any wiring for the solar panels inside the house where it is necessary. Put in the power meter for any net metering that you may have arranged. Have the system inspected, if necessary, and then have your solar panels go live.
A Guide to Installing Solar Panels : Professional Quote
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus necaSounds complicated, huh? If you aren’t ready to take on such a large project but still want the benefits of going solar in Texas, then contact Sunshine Renewable Solutions today. Our team of professional solar installers will handle all aspects of choosing the correct solar equipment, to permitting the project, to installing the solar system. Contact us today for a free solar consultation. ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
