Personally there are several cons to roof mounted panels. 1. Cleaning 2. Maintenance 3. Roof leaks 4. Hurricanes and such 5. Home owners insurance issues. All of our 24 panels are ground mounted in a way that I can take them down and store them in about 30 minutes. I also have 26 more stored and ready to deploy. Before roof mounting check with your insurance company. Some are canceling home owners policies or greatly increase rate for roof mounted solar. I use temporary ground mounts that I can move depending on the season. We are on a small lot with trees around us so we have 4 6 panel arrays that can be rearranged for the best sun exposure for summer and winter.
Great topic to explore here! That's also a pretty cool thing to think of, when it comes to how you spaced your ground mount system in preparation for the snow buildup. Nice video man!
I live in florida on the west side. Every time a hurricane comes thru, every house that has roof mounted solar panels has sustained damage. Many insurance companies will not cover without having extra insurance. It costs an easy 10k to remove reinstall panels after the roof is worked on. Ground mount all the way
Living in MN and having snow on the ground for 3-4 months out of the year, having panels on the roof sucks. When it snows, panels need to be cleaned off or the solar production suffers. I had panels on my garage roof and pole barn roof. After one season, I put up a ground mount and moved the panels off the pole barn. The ground mount I purchased does tilt for seasonal adjustment. The winter angle can still get some snow on the panels, but the 24 ground mount panels can be cleared in less than 10 minutes or you can wait for the snow to melt. The garage panels still have to be cleaned off and I have to set up a ladder to do it. 18 panels on the garage takes me 20-30 minutes to clean off. The sun does a poor job clearing the garage roof panels because the angle of the roof does not help the snow to slide off the panels very well. Because the ground mount can tilt for seasonal adjustment, it usually produces 40-50 more kilowatts of power per panel, per year, compared to my garage panels. If a ground mount is feasible, and your local municipality allows a ground mount, that is the way to go.
Living off grid on the wet side of the big isle Hawai'i, the roof solars have to be cleaned frequently because of the moss and algae build up. Climbing tall ladders is no fun to clean them. The other panels are on special built contoured saw horses are easiest to clean, and no ladders necessary!
Really and excellent presentation. It definitely hit all the how to mount the solar array points. Have you done a video showing how you size out the LiFePO4 Storage Battery system to hold up to 90kWh of battery reserve? So if you've computed the average total wattage draw of your home over the period of 24 hours (same for winter or summer) how do you pipe all the power from the Solar Panels (48 units of 380Wh panels) to the Battery Storage Unit? Distance must be a factor. Also running the power from the Storage Battery System which is outside to the homes main ins panel, don't really want to use a 100 foot 2-gauge high grade copper cable. Which means there must be a distance from house to Battery storage to ground mounted solar array factor.
Im calling ground mount... only because I recently saw a video about that guys that removes solar panels... usually because there have been leaks in the roof.
One thing you may want to look at is temperature. In my experience the roof mount panels can be much hotter because of lack of ventilation between roof and panels. This can make a big efficacy loss. Not a problem with the open ground mount. Every variation in type of installation has advantages and disadvantages.
thought from left field - any positive from angling the panels in the middle {like a snow plow} ??? Also love the note on spacing the top row above bottom row. Thinking ahead !
Thanks for this video. I'd love to see a video on your summer results. Question, is there such a thing as too much sunshine? I live in Northern AZ and we get temps in the 100's in the summer and snow in the winter. Thanks!
Initial roof mount cost would be low, but you're going to eat up any savings when you had to replace your roof. Imagine how much it's going to cost you to take the solar panels off the roof and then remount them after replacing your roof shingles.
Solar trackers generally don't create enough additional energy to justify the cost of installing and maintaining them. If you have the room, you're money ahead to just install a few more fixed position panels.
I leterally think DOWN ON THE GROUND LEVEL would offer up a better chance for people to keep them CLEAN ENUF to be most effective... well I guess that's a good reason to get a LITTLE GIANT (very good ladder) anyhow!@!! LOL or even make a STAIRWAY TO THE ROOF to dust off the panels every week or 2... ;)
Dust isn't typically a problem on solar panels, however snow can really limit their output, which is why ground level installations aren't a good idea in northern latitudes.
I'm going with a carport of solar panels once I get started a. I need a carport b. I plan on making an EV c. the battery outside in a mechanical room for the carport very nice..
Personally there are several cons to roof mounted panels.
1. Cleaning
2. Maintenance
3. Roof leaks
4. Hurricanes and such
5. Home owners insurance issues.
All of our 24 panels are ground mounted in a way that I can take them down and store them in about 30 minutes. I also have 26 more stored and ready to deploy.
Before roof mounting check with your insurance company. Some are canceling home owners policies or greatly increase rate for roof mounted solar.
I use temporary ground mounts that I can move depending on the season. We are on a small lot with trees around us so we have 4 6 panel arrays that can be rearranged for the best sun exposure for summer and winter.
Great topic to explore here! That's also a pretty cool thing to think of, when it comes to how you spaced your ground mount system in preparation for the snow buildup. Nice video man!
I live in a tiny house on wheels with little to no roof space, so ground mount was the only way to go... thank you for the info!!!
Great video Ben...I going ground mount as soon as I have to replace my shingles.
That's a great choice, let me know when you're ready and I'm happy to help you get the supplies. info@poweredportablesolar.com
I live in florida on the west side. Every time a hurricane comes thru, every house that has roof mounted solar panels has sustained damage. Many insurance companies will not cover without having extra insurance. It costs an easy 10k to remove reinstall panels after the roof is worked on. Ground mount all the way
Living in MN and having snow on the ground for 3-4 months out of the year, having panels on the roof sucks. When it snows, panels need to be cleaned off or the solar production suffers. I had panels on my garage roof and pole barn roof. After one season, I put up a ground mount and moved the panels off the pole barn. The ground mount I purchased does tilt for seasonal adjustment. The winter angle can still get some snow on the panels, but the 24 ground mount panels can be cleared in less than 10 minutes or you can wait for the snow to melt. The garage panels still have to be cleaned off and I have to set up a ladder to do it. 18 panels on the garage takes me 20-30 minutes to clean off. The sun does a poor job clearing the garage roof panels because the angle of the roof does not help the snow to slide off the panels very well. Because the ground mount can tilt for seasonal adjustment, it usually produces 40-50 more kilowatts of power per panel, per year, compared to my garage panels. If a ground mount is feasible, and your local municipality allows a ground mount, that is the way to go.
Thumbs up 👍 good conversation and ideas thanks.
Thanks for watching =)
Living off grid on the wet side of the big isle Hawai'i, the roof solars have to be cleaned frequently because of the moss and algae build up. Climbing tall ladders is no fun to clean them.
The other panels are on special built contoured saw horses are easiest to clean, and no ladders necessary!
If you have the space and the $$ for the extra cost of a ground mount system, it's definitely the way to go.
agreed
Really and excellent presentation. It definitely hit all the how to mount the solar array points. Have you done a video showing how you size out the LiFePO4 Storage Battery system to hold up to 90kWh of battery reserve? So if you've computed the average total wattage draw of your home over the period of 24 hours (same for winter or summer) how do you pipe all the power from the Solar Panels (48 units of 380Wh panels) to the Battery Storage Unit? Distance must be a factor. Also running the power from the Storage Battery System which is outside to the homes main ins panel, don't really want to use a 100 foot 2-gauge high grade copper cable. Which means there must be a distance from house to Battery storage to ground mounted solar array factor.
Im calling ground mount... only because I recently saw a video about that guys that removes solar panels... usually because there have been leaks in the roof.
Great info. Thanks again.
One thing you may want to look at is temperature. In my experience the roof mount panels can be much hotter because of lack of ventilation between roof and panels. This can make a big efficacy loss. Not a problem with the open ground mount. Every variation in type of installation has advantages and disadvantages.
Great video. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
What about the other negative with a roof in case there is a leak in the roof. A lot of hassle to remove to repair.
Summer results follow up video ✅
Ground mount. Easier to clean, repair, replace, maintain, and remove.
thought from left field - any positive from angling the panels in the middle {like a snow plow} ??? Also love the note on spacing the top row above bottom row. Thinking ahead !
✌️😜That is definitely a big " STUFF IT " to the power company 🤬🤣⚔️ God Bless us All 🇺🇸🙏✝️
Thanks for this video. I'd love to see a video on your summer results. Question, is there such a thing as too much sunshine? I live in Northern AZ and we get temps in the 100's in the summer and snow in the winter. Thanks!
can't have too much sun
Initial roof mount cost would be low, but you're going to eat up any savings when you had to replace your roof. Imagine how much it's going to cost you to take the solar panels off the roof and then remount them after replacing your roof shingles.
No holes in my roof, Had 24 panels on passive Zomeworks trackers the azimuth was adjustable.
Summer results
'"YES!!!!!, Do IT Again!! In The 🌼🦋💐🌞SUMMER!!!🥵🐦🌅 Please!!, THANK!!!!!!! You!!!"'
So angle of incident is important?
yes
i use Windex Outdoor Multi-Surface Concentrated Window Cleaner screws onto hose and spays clean think its got something in tit to prevent streaking
Automated solar panels following the sun at the best angle …is best
Solar trackers generally don't create enough additional energy to justify the cost of installing and maintaining them. If you have the room, you're money ahead to just install a few more fixed position panels.
@ 25-40% more
I leterally think DOWN ON THE GROUND LEVEL would offer up a better chance for people to keep them CLEAN ENUF to be most effective... well I guess that's a good reason to get a LITTLE GIANT (very good ladder) anyhow!@!! LOL or even make a STAIRWAY TO THE ROOF to dust off the panels every week or 2... ;)
Dust isn't typically a problem on solar panels, however snow can really limit their output, which is why ground level installations aren't a good idea in northern latitudes.
I'm going with a carport of solar panels once I get started
a. I need a carport
b. I plan on making an EV
c. the battery outside in a mechanical room for the carport very nice..
Great topic. Roof mount for me.
Couldn’t the roof panels be mounted at the same angle you have the ground panels? Do they have to follow the roof angle?
Not necessarily but it's the easiest option.
summer results