Is It Ok To Lay Solar Panels Flat On Roof
How do solar panel systems work on a flat roof.
Is it ok to lay solar panels flat on roof. If you look around you will find companies which will maintain your solar panel system for a yearly fixed fee somewhere in the region of 100 to 200. The most effective way to clean your solar panels is with a hose and a bucket of soapy water. Flat roof solar panels need to be at a 20 50 degree angle. It is actually perfectly possible to install solar panels on a flat roof and this page takes you through how it can be done.
It s clearly easier to take free standing panels off a flat roof than it is to take bolted panels off a sloping roof. Check with your solar installers and providers to determine if there is any information about solar panel cleaning recommendations and dos or don ts when it comes to cleaning your system. Solar panels installed horizontally on a roof at the st george hotel in st george qld. Skip to 12 15 to hear rex and patrick discuss the main solar solutions for different kinds of flat roofing.
Flat roof solar systems are most commonly found on commercial buildings where the roof is typically made to be flat. This allows solar panels mounted on flat roofs to be tilted upwards enough to ensure they capture as much sunlight as possible. The frames and clamps used are designed to match the roof profile and provide a water tight seal. The easiest way to install solar panels on a flat roof may appear to be to lay them flat out like a lizard drinking but this can result in your lizard getting very dirty indeed.
Solar panel installers are presented with a number of challenges when designing and installing flat roof solar panels. On a flat roof the solar panels are typically installed on free standing frames that can optimize array performance by providing the ideal tilt and directional orientation. The last thing a solar panel company wants to hear after installing them on a roof is some bad news about a customer falling off the roof trying to carry out some routine maintenance on them. In the past panel manufacturers would not offer warranties on panels installed at an angle lower than 2 degrees but these days most of the top manufacturers will give warranties even if their panels are installed at 0 degrees completely flat.
One way is by adjusting the solar arrays to optimum tilt angles and to optimum direction where the modules will face on the roof. On a flat roof an upgrade a few years into the solar system installation won t actually be too disruptive. Usually rain alone is enough to keep solar panels clean on a typical sloped roof because rainwater will flow off them carrying away dirt. This is an important thing to be included during the design stage.
This can be done in different ways.