Roof Mount Solar – Homes

Residential roof mounted solar panels are the most common type of application in Austin Texas.

Benefits of a Solar Roof For Your Home

Panels can be tilted for low tilt solar roof installations

Optimized Building Foot Print — Mounting solar panels on your roof preserves land for other uses in urban areas. Make use of an unused area that is exposed to sunlight.

Passive Air Flow Cooling — Mounting modules at least 4” above your roof has proven to provide a cooling barrier that keeps your attic cooler in hot summer months. Solar panels are typically installed on the hottest part of your home’s roof to maximize sun exposure.

Developed Industry — Roof mount solar has become a large industry over the last 10 years which has sparked innovation in material availability. We install high quality flashing that is engineered to prevent water leaks.

Solar Roof Mount Considerations

Available Space — Finding adequate space on a roof that is facing east, south, or west is the largest obstacle in design.

Shaded Roof — Homes have been traditionally placed next to large shading trees to lower the roofs sun exposure. A roof with shade-free available space is a necessity for a high performance home solar system.

Roofing Material — Different roofing types require specific flashing materials. The roofing type will need to be identified for a precise estimate to be calculated. Asphalt shingle, and metal roof are the most common roof types we in counter followed by Spanish tile and slate.

Roof Age — The age of the roof is especially important with asphalt shingle roofs. Solar panels are expected to last 25+ years so a roofs remaining life is an important factor to take into consideration.

Asphalt Shingle — We only recommend installing solar on shingles that are in good condition. This is typically 5 years for builder grade shingles and under 10 years for high quality shingles. We use the highest quality solar flashing available.

Metal Roof — Roof mounted solar energy systems work best on standing seam metal roofs. Attachment clamps require ZERO penetrations and the metal roof will often last the life span of the solar modules. We use S-5 clamps for all metal roof installations.

Tile Roofs (Clay and Slate) — High quality material for tile roofs is readily available but the process of working on fragile tiles keeps us from taking on tile roof installations. We only work on tile roofs that have a hard surface below where a lift can be used to install the system.

Rubber Tile Roof — Although it isn’t very common, rubber roofs work great with solar. The durability of the tiles allow for us to work on these roofs without damage.

We have a separate page dedicated to defining ideal solar rooftops.