You may be asking yourself if your roof or property is a good fit for a solar installation. Here is what our design team bases your solar system design on. Remember you don’t have to meet all of these requirements, as we will work with your roof or property to make sure that your solar system is a good match for you.

1. Orientation: You want your roof to be facing south in order to receive maximum solar radiation (since we are in the northern hemisphere). However, this is not a deal breaker and solar panels can be installed on other sides of your roof. If it is installed on any non-south facing side, it just means the percent of electricity generated from the panels will not meet its maximum.
2. Shade: This is obviously a very important requirement to meet. You want your solar panels to avoid any type of shading during the day. Being surrounded by tall trees may interfere with the solar panels. Our lead engineer would need to further investigate this before making a final decision on whether to cut the tree down or leave it. We can recommend a great company to help cut down the tree if need be.
3. Material: Whether you have shingles, tile, metal etc. we install on all types of roofs. Tile roofs may require a different type of approach, but it can be done.
4. Age: Typically, we recommend replacing your roof if it is 15 years old, but that could vary based on your roof. However, our best bet is for our lead engineer to assess your roof before making a final decision on whether you need to replace it before your installation. The solar panels last up to 35 years, so it’s important that your roof can withstand that.
5. Size and Space: The size of your roof will determine how many panels we can fit. We need to take into account obstructions such as vents that could get in the way of a solar panel. Additionally, we are required to have a setback from the edges of the roof. All of this will be taken into consideration when assessing how many panels can fit on your roof. If your roof is too small or you prefer to not have panels on your roof, we can do a ground installation.
6. Pitch: The pitch will determine what type of racking system we will use. The racking system is what holds and attaches your panels to your roof. There are a variety of different racking systems and, once again, our lead engineer will need to assess what type of system would work best on your roof.

These are the factors that our lead engineer looks at when assessing your roof during a site assessment. We want to make sure that we provide you with the best possible solar system, but remember these are NOT mandatory requirements. If you don’t meet all of these requirements, do not worry because we can still work with you and your roof!

If you have any questions or want more information about solar energy, please give us a call at 361-360-1800. To schedule your FREE energy consultation, give us a call or book here!