Solar panels are huge energy-saving structures for any Littleton, CO home. However, as beneficial solar panels can be, their installation can be troublesome for many homeowners. Many Littleton, CO homeowners believe they'll need to re-roof their home with sturdy and highly-efficient roofing material. This idea isn't crucial -- with a few caveats.
Specialized Mounting Hardware
You correctly assumed that solar panels require sturdy foundations. However, the steel frames holding the panels together aren't attached to your roofing material. All solar panel manufacturers have a specially-made mounting frame for all their products. In doing so, they make sure the solar panel stays in place even in the harshest rain, winds, and snowstorms.
Structural Integrity Inspections
Having specialist solar panel installation teams with in-depth roofing experience, such as Littleton CO's finest roofers, Roper Roofing, gives you insight into long-term and highly-beneficial roofing materials. If you have to replace your aging roof, you'll have to remove your solar panels, making it much more time-consuming and expensive to do.
High-Quality Roofing and Solar Panel Installations
As we've mentioned, working with reliable solar panel installers with roofing experience can give you the best experience with solar panel installations. Whether you need to remove aging roofing materials before installing solar panels or just a regular solar panel installation, you can always count on them to help you with everything you need.
AZ Roofing has a post dedicated to explaining roofing replacement with solar panels in the simplest way possible. Read more about it here.
Do You Need a Roof Replacement First?
You may want to have a roof inspection done before you install solar panels to make sure that it is going to be able to hold up to the effort. This is especially important if you think your roof may already be near the end of its life.
Overall, if you think you may need a roof replacement in the next 10 years or do, get an expert’s opinion before considering solar panel installation.
There are some solar companies that offer roofing services, but generally, reroofing is going to be done prior to or right around the time of your new solar installation. You’ll essentially get the new roof and solar panels all at once!
If you do need a new roof before going to solar energy, it’s a good idea to get it done.
When you add solar pannels to your roof after a roof replacement, the panels will make the lifetime of your roof last longer.
If you are getting a roof replacement with solar panels at the same time there is a good chance you won’t need to reroof again until you need a new solar system. That saves you money in the long run on maintenance and energy.
If you do have solar panels on your roof and you run into a need to replace your roof, post solar panel installation, you will have the added cost of labor to remove and replace the solar panels while the re-roofing process is taking place.
What About Solar Shingles?
Solar shingles may seem like the perfect alternative if you want to reroof and take advantage of alternative energy sources. These shingles would replace the roofing materials, which means you wouldn’t be spending money on those materials and solar panels.
While solar shingles are great for some people, they aren’t the perfect fit for every house.
Not many contractors offer them and if they do, they are typically very costly when compared to a regular rooftop solar panel. The technology is very expensive, and you’ll need to install a lot of them to cover the same area as a single solar panel.
Regardless, if you plan to replace your roof before you install the solar panels, solar shingles might be a potential option to consider.
There will be a higher cost upfront than there would be if you were to install a traditional roof and solar panels were put on top, however, so it is something to consider before moving forward. (Continued)
You can always count on us at Roper Roofing to help you with all your solar panel installation and roofing needs. We're a REC and Solaria-certified solar panel installation team. Contact us today to learn more about everything that we can do for you.
