Solar Panels and Roof Types

Choosing to install solar panels on your roof can be a big decision. In most cases, you’ll be committing about £7,500 to the project, and placing a system of heavy panels on the roof of your house. Understanding the types of solar panels and solar PV systems that can be installed on roofs can help you make your decision. The National Energy Foundation lists five different solar PV roof system types identified by the EurActive Roofer Project that ran between 2005 and 2008. The five types of solar panel roof systems identified are:

Traditional Bolt-On Modules on Sloping Roofs

Most solar panels installed in the UK are of this type. The system consists of rigid solar panels that are permanently fixed to a sloping roof by rails and hooks or by dedicated fixings. Properly installed, solar panels of this type do not compromise the integrity of the roof. The panels are nearly always installed to sit several millimetres above the actual roof surface to allow for ventilation. The Department of Energy and Climate Change estimates that as many as 80 percent of the roofs in the UK are suitable for this type of solar PV installation, and nearly any UK installer can provide solar panels and fittings for this type of system.

Roof Integrated Modules

In some cases, particularly when a new roof is being fitted to a home, the solar panels replace the roof covering rather than being affixed to it. Installing solar panels this way can reduce costs slightly and reduces the visual impact of a solar PV system on the roof. It offers a lower profile, and requires no special consideration for wind loading since the panels are the roof rather than being fixed to it. In some cases, the solar panels cover the entire roof. In others, they are put in as roof lights.

Solar Tiles

Solar tiles are among the more expensive ways to incorporate solar panels on the roof. They often use amorphous silicon for flexibility, and are the least visually intrusive of the main types of solar PV systems.

Continuous Thin Film Solar

Thin film solar is an emerging technology that is used almost exclusively in commercial installation. The solar panels made this way are generally supplied with electrical connections already attached so they can easily be installed by regular roofers. Like solar tiles, continuous film solar is a more expensive technology.

Traditional Solar Panels on Flat Roofs

While the idea roof for solar PV installation is pitched at about 30 degrees, solar panels can be installed on a flat roof. Instead of mounting directly to the roof, the solar panels are installed into A-frames that are bolted to the roof. One of the major advantages of installing solar panels this way is that it’s possible to set the panels at the optimal angle for the specific location where they are being installed.

To find out which solar PV system is the best choice for your home, contact a local solar installer and request a consultation.