How Do You Measure A Roof For Solar Panels

If you are trying to install solar panels on a steep roof it may not be possible to place panels at the optimal tilt with traditional racking systems.

How do you measure a roof for solar panels. You need a sunny roof to benefit from solar panels but yours may be sunnier than you think. Yes you can successfully have solar panels installed on the flat roof of your home or business. If you do plan to optimize solar collection in every season use the following calculations. We have examples of two of the most common roof styles below.

In fact solar panels can vary in size from model to model from the same brand. North north west and north east are all suitable. You now need to trace the roof area you wish to install solar on. Also be sure the stanchion flashing fits beneath the roof shingles to prevent leaks.

Screw each stanchion through the roof and into a roof rafter. An easy way to do this to enter this equation into google. In this video this old house energy expert ross trethewey installs solar panels. Select the best roof area your panels should fit.

Solar panel size. Flat roofs have a minimal slope allowance that will accommodate solar pv panel systems. These flat roofs are also commonly known as. The hip style roof is in blue and the gable style roof is in red.

On the roof lay out the locations of the stanchions that will support the solar panels. Roughly draw out your roof on a piece of paper. Remember it doesn. Here s how you prepare what we need to do a detailed quote for you.

Because the steep angle of your roof might already be higher than the optimal angle for production the best you can do is lie your panels flat against the roof. Google s project sunroof gives building by building details and now has data for parts of all 50. Select the style that best matches your project and move on to step 1. Please use slider to zoom into your particular roof.

A roof having a rise of 0 25 inches over a 12 inch run is known as a 12 pitch roof. So if your south facing roof is 3 4 x 5 8 meters you have 19 72 square meters of roof space. Solar panels do not come in standard sizes which means that you may need a different number of panels depending on the brand you choose. Measuring your roof slope from the ground let s round it off and call it 35.

For spring and fall multiply your latitude by 0 98 and subtract 2 3 degrees.