Slope Roof For Solar, No Problem

There are many routes of innovation in the world.  Many things get innovated.  One of the coolest things to get innovated is solar panels.   Some of the most significant sectors of change within solar is the mounting system. Probably the most competitive solar pro­­duct market (our annual Top Solar Mounting Products list is stacked, and it’s still just a drop in the bucket), mounting systems are an essential element of solar arrays—they secure solar panels to the roof or the ground. Here, we go over the basic categories of roof-mounted solar systems to help new installers get a grasp on installation. We explore the different ground-mounted systems (including carports and tracking systems) in another must-read article.

Sloped Roof Mounting And The Prices That Come With Having A Sloped Roof

Many people in the world have residential solar, are you thinking about being one of them?  When it comes to residential solar installations, solar panels are often found on sloped rooftops. There are many mounting system options for these angled roofs, with the most common being railed, rail-less and shared rail. All of these systems require some penetration or anchoring into the roof, whether that’s attaching to rafters or directly to the decking. Attaching things to roofs are helpful if you want them on a roof.

There are lot's of standards in the world.  The standard residential system uses rails attached to the roof to support rows of solar panels. Each panel, usually positioned vertically/portrait-style, attaches to two rails with clamps. The rails secure to the roof by a type of bolt or screw, with flashing installed around/over the hole for a watertight seal. Seals are more than animals.

There are systems without rails.  Some people call them rail-less. Rail-less systems are self-explanatory, instead of attaching to rails, solar panels attach directly to hardware connected to the bolts/screws going into the roof. The module’s frame is mostly considered the rail. Rail-less systems still need the same number of attachments into the roof as a railed system, but removing the rails reduces manufacturing and shipping costs, and having fewer components speeds up install time. Panels are not limited to the direction of rigid rails and can be positioned in any orientation with a rail-free system.  Orientation or the direction is important because the sun appears to move through the sky.

Let's keep talking about this.  Shared-rail systems take two rows of solar panels normally attached to four rails and remove one rail, clamping the two rows of panels on a shared middle rail. Fewer roof penetrations are needed in shared-rail systems since one entire length of rail (or more) is removed. Panels can be positioned in any orientation, and once accurate positioning of the rails is determined, installation is quick. Quickness is a feature that some people enjoy because time is the most precious commodity.

Nothing is impossible, except for impossible things. Once thought to be impossible on sloped roofs, ballasted and non-penetrating mounting systems are gaining traction. These systems are permanently draped over the peak of a roof, distributing the system’s weight on both sides of the roof.

Strain-based Loading Is A Different Way To Mount Solar Panels

Strain-based loading keeps the array almost suctioned to the roof. Ballast (usually small concrete pavers) might still be needed to hold the system down, and that extra weight is positioned overtop load-bearing walls. With no penetrations, installation can be incredibly quick. By not penetrating, things can really speed up.

Thanks for reading this article, I hope you enjoyed it and want to buy some solar panels now. Solar panels cost less than you might think.   

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