Most people care about being more sustainable these days, but the true motivation happens when that approach costs less than the alternative. That’s often the case with solar panel installation, which does require an investment to begin with before it starts saving you money in the long run.
Moreover, now is moving into winter, which isn’t the best time to install them. However, it’s a good time to start saving and figuring out if they’re even suitable for your property. As the best roofing companies will often attest to, it’s not about if you’re ready for solar panels or not, but if solar panels are ready for you.
That sounds a little ominous, but what does it mean? Well, in a household with little topmost sunlight exposure, that’s not necessarily going to be your wisest investment. You may also need to invest in further structural changes in your property to provide the staging for solar panel installation. It may also be a trade off – there are some roofing materials that simply aren’t compatible with this requirement.
So, what considerations should you really be making before implementing that technology? It’s not always clear. In this post, we’ll help you along that path:
Sunlight Exposure & Angles
Your roof might look perfectly fine for solar panels, but if it’s facing the wrong direction or gets shadowed by trees half the day, you’re not going to see much benefit from the investment. South-facing roofs with minimal shading are ideal, but east and west-facing surfaces can work too if the angles are right.
You need to think about what time of day your roof gets the most direct sunlight and for how long. A roof that’s in shadow from 2pm onwards because of neighboring buildings or large trees isn’t going to generate much power when you actually need it most. Professional roofing services are usually best to assess whether your roof gets enough sun exposure to make solar panels worthwhile before you spend thousands on installation. Sometimes they will even do you a good deal if they install them as part of their services.
Neighbor Co-Operation
This might sound odd, but your neighbors can make or break your solar panel plans, particularly if you live in a terraced house or somewhere with shared roof spaces. If they’re planning building work that could block your sunlight, or if their chimneys and extensions already cast shadows across your roof, solar panels might not be as effective as you’d hope.
You also need to consider future developments in your area that might affect sunlight exposure down the line. For instance, an empty plot next door might seem fine now, but if someone builds a three-story house there in a few years, your solar investment could become pretty useless pretty quickly.
Bulk Discounts
Getting solar panels installed on your own can be expensive, but if you can get a few neighbors involved, the costs per household often drops a fair amount, as installation companies prefer doing multiple houses in the same area because it saves them time and travel costs, and they’ll usually pass some of those savings on to you if you ask.
Community solar schemes are becoming more popular, where entire streets or neighborhoods coordinate their installations to get better deals. The savings can be quite major when you’re buying panels and installation services in bulk, making the whole project much more affordable for everyone involved. It doesn’t hurt to ask those around you.
With this advice, you’ll be sure to plan everything out before you consider solar panel work.
