The Most Compatible Roofing Materials for Solar Panels

Virtually everyone has seen solar panels in Littleton, CO, and they’re enormous. Most solar panels are at least one square meter in size. It will occupy a significant portion and weigh down against your roof. Therefore, your roofing material must be fully compatible with the solar panel dimensions and capabilities you’ll choose.

Thankfully, professional solar panel installation teams from Littleton, CO, can give you a comprehensive briefing and evaluate your roof material’s compatibility with their partnered manufacturers. Most solar panel installers have in-depth roofing experience, such as Roper Roofing, giving them full authority to evaluate your roof’s compatibility. 

For most Littleton, CO homes, the following roofing materials are the best choices.

Metal

GI sheet metal, corrugated, and standing seam metal roofing are dense and non-brittle roofing materials. They’re the best for solar panels because of their strength-to-density ratio. Plus, their non-eroding property as metals ensures solar panels have additional support once installation teams attach them to your roof.

Asphalt Shingles

Out of all traditional roofing shingles, asphalt shingles come out the best because of their low erosion properties. Wood and slate materials are brittle. While solar panels can attach to your roofing joists and support structures flawlessly, asphalt shingles offer the best support for it.

Electric Choice has comprehensive instructions on how to install solar panels. Read more to learn how professionals do it.

Types of Solar Power for the Home

There are a few ways in which you can generate power for your home through installing solar panels. It is important to understand your options in order to correctly set up your system and start benefitting from solar power. If you need more help deciding on the best option for your home, get in touch with a contractor.  They will provide the additional information you need.

In general, there are three main types of solar power for the home. These include:

Grid Connected (no batteries)

This type of installation is the cheapest and easiest.

With this type of solar power, the system is connected to the grid without any back-up because you are using the grid in place of the battery. If your house requires more power, it will simply consume what it needs from the grid. When your system generates more electricity than you can consume, that power is given to the grid (local utility).

The credit amount you can receive for this excess power depends on your utility. One thing to keep in mind before you choose this type of solar power is that if the grid goes out, so does the power in your home.

Grid Connected (with batteries)

The main difference with this type of solar power system is that you will have batteries in addition to your connection to the grid. What this means is that the batteries will act as storage for power so that if the grid experiences a power outage, the power from your battery will keep your lights on. If your solar power system generates more energy than you consume, it will continue to go into the grid. This type of system can be quite expensive and are much more complicated to install. It is for this reason that this type of system is often used in hospitals (for example) because they have specific needs that require power at all times. (Continued)

If you have yet to find a reliable solar panel installation team, you can trust Roper Roofing. With certification from REC and Solaria, we offer only the best solar panel choices and high-level performance. Contact us today to learn more.