Equipping your house with solar panels is the first step to a lifetime of sustainable energy. In order to take advantage of your solar-sourced electrical power, you’ll need to know how to make your home produce as much energy as possible. Here’s what you need to know about setting up photovoltaic panels on your home.
Consider Which Direction Your Roof Faces
If your roof isn’t angled toward the sun, your panels won’t be able to take in adequate light to produce the amount of energy required to power your home. The best homes for solar energy are those with roofings that face south or west. However, depending on the pitch of your roofing system, solar panels can potentially harness sufficient energy when set up on east-or- north-facing roofing systems.
Your Roof Needs to Be in Good Condition
When it comes to utilizing the sun’s energy, factors such as age, shape, and the material of your roof matter.
If your roofing has seen some wear and needs fixing, or is an older roof that will need replacing within the next few years, it may be beneficial to do any repairs prior to the installation of solar panels. If you choose to set up solar now and make repairs later, you will need to remove the panels for the repair and have them re-installed after.
A solar professional will be able to determine if your roof is structurally sufficient to support the weight of solar panels, or if it will need additional assistance.
Roofing Shape and Material Matters
If you have not provided much thought to the shape of your roofing system, we can’t state we blame you. However, the shape of the system factors into how much sunshine, and subsequently energy, you are able to harness. A basic gable roof is the ideal shape for a photovoltaic panel setup because it makes for a relatively basic installation. But there are many other roofing system types that also work well with solar panels. Throughout a site visit, installers will take into account the roofing shape, shading, and degree of pitch. These factors in unison determine how much sunshine your roofing has the ability to efficiently take in.