Solar Roofing or Traditional Solar Panels – Which Should You Choose?
January 30th, 2010 by Admin in PV Panel, Wausau, Wisconsin, solar PV cells, solar energy, solar equipment, solar pv installer
Snow can present a major problem for owners of solar roofs in northern climates.
As far as we’re concerned, it’s a loaded question. The reason? Frankly, solar electric (aka photovoltaics, or PV for short) is frequently not the best choice to begin with.
Don’t get me wrong. We’re not anti-PV. Quite the contrary. We install PV as well as solar thermal systems. On a personal note, we lived completely off-grid and used two small PV systems to supply electricity for our home and an outbuilding for three years before moving to the Wausau area. It was a wonderful experience in many ways and we plan to install PV in some capacity on our new home once we’ve gotten that far in the renovation process.
PV or no PV – that is the question.
However, when a customer approaches us about PV, the first question we have for them is, “What’s your reason for wanting it?”
PV is great for those wanting to be self-sufficient or completely energy independent. It’s great as part of a larger plan for those building an energy-efficient home, or as a crowning glory for those who have already gotten their energy consumption down to very low levels.
But for those wanting simply to reduce high energy bills in a cost-effective manner, it’s not great. It’s stupid. You can spend a lot less on other technologies that will take your total energy footprint down tons faster than PV, and that’s where it ought to start for those seeking value.
Now that that’s off my chest, let’s get back to the topic at hand.
Solar roofing or panels – which is better?
Well, as usual, there are pros and cons to each. Let’s take a look.
People like solar roofing primarily because of the aesthetics. It blends right in with the roof without interfering with the design qualities of the building.
Thin film solar such as solar roofing is typically far less efficient at converting sunlight to electricity – about 8-10% efficient vs. 12% to over 20% now for regular panels. However, it does continue to produce electricity at far lower light levels than traditional panels. Is it enough to make up for the lower efficiency? The debate rages in solar circles. For now the best we can tell you is we don’t really know.
Snowed by snow
One thing we do know, though, is that here in central and northern Wisconsin we get a lot of snow. Snow that doesn’t melt readily off of PV surfaces of any type. Snow that can put solar electricity generation out of commission for days on end. We figure that with a roof mount you’ll be losing 20% to over 30% of your annual production in a typical year if you don’t want to be dancing around on your roof all winter.
With a solar roof there’s not much you can do about it. But regular panels can be pole-mounted where it’s easy to brush them off with a broom. And if you use an adjustable rack you can change their angle a couple times a year (flatter in summer, steeper in winter) for greater efficiency and to shed snow more effectively.
Now, we’re not going to say one option is better than another. Every situation is different and it’s good to have options to weigh. But for most applications, in this climate we’ll place our bets on the panels.
Visit Performance Energy, Inc.
Tags: installing solar, photovoltaics, PV, solar, solar installation, solar panels, solar roof, solar roofing, Wisconsin
March 23rd, 2010 at 1:35 am
I tried to get the RSS Feed for this article but it is not properly displaying in Google Chrome. Any suggestions?
March 28th, 2010 at 10:47 am
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March 30th, 2010 at 11:10 am
Hi Freida,
Thanks for your interest.
Have you tried using a different browser? If that doesn’t work let me know. I’m not all that techno-savvy but I’ll do what I can to try to fix this for you.
Anne
March 30th, 2010 at 11:16 am
You’re very welcome for lunch. That’ll be $15.97 plus tip.
Anne
April 12th, 2010 at 4:29 am
For me, Yes!… solar panels are feasible to lease…Leasing is going to be a good option especially for those people who do not have enough money to pay for cash…There are lots of companies out there who are doing this kind of option… It is because of the fact that our economy is not stable…There are lots of ways on how to lease solar panels… The only thing people would want to do is to make research…The Question is: Are you capable of leasing solar panels? How would use it as an advantage?