INSTALLATIONROOF MOUNTED
16 Roof top rules
Roof top mounted photovoltaics, not be confused with building integrated PV (BIPV), will continue to be a major platform for the solar and PV industry to maintain a positive social perception as competition for different types of renewable increases. How difficult can it be to put some solar PV on a roof? Well, as in many things, the devil is in the detail or, in this case, the roof and the mounting. James Steynor, Managing Director of The Solar Building Company discusses the perils of mounting PV on top of a roof.
(Feed in Tariff – April 2010). And even in spite of the Governments attempt’s to pour water (or maybe wind, CHP or bio-mass – perhaps the latter the closest) on PV with their misguided “fast track” review of 50kW or above installations (February with revised tariff in August) there is still strong interest, be it for installations under 50kWp.
P
There are many roof types of course and it is an easy trap to fall into considering these to be all similar. Anyway they all do the same thing don’t they? It’s all about keeping the weather out and putting PV on top can even help protect a roof.
Choosing the right PV
The dominant technology for solar PV modules (or panels – module is perhaps more descriptive if differentiating from solar thermal) is crystalline, be that mono (single crystal silicon cell structure – the most efficient module technology) or poly (multiple crystal structure about 2% less efficient than mono). In both cases this is heavy. Indeed larger modules can be so heavy that two fitters are needed to carry them. Weight is typically 20kg or so for a 1.6m2 module equivalent to 12.5kg/m2. So
V in the UK is relatively new, spurred on as it is by the recently introduced FIT
www.solar-pv-uk.com Issue III 2011
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