Solar panels as REPLACEMENT for flat roof ?

[ed513]

Part of my house has a flat roof, area approx. 8m x 4m. The traditional bitumen/membrane will need replacing in the near future, and I'm interested in going solar. Can I kill 2 birds with one stone? Is there a roof material which combines acceptable quality roofing material with solar collection capability?

[peakbagger]

Short answer - NO. Long answer it has been tried by many architects on various roof pitches and very few if any were successful except for putting money in the pockets of those who have to fix it.

That said most roofs fail due to owner abuse with detailing coming in second. If installing a PV array keeps the owner from walking on the membrane and the mounts are properly detailed as part of the roofing installation, the membrane might last longer due to lower UV degradation. I expect roof boots last longer when not in the sun. Of course most roofing warrantees require periodic "inspections" to keep the warrantee valid. These "inspections" are actually preventive maintenance where the details get inspected and usually touched up. If there are solar panels in the way, I expect the "inspections" will be much more difficult and ignored leading to the warrantee being invalid.

[organic farmer]

I owned a house with a flat roof, and I was on the board of a VFW hall that had a flat roof. In both cases the normal thought is to inspect it every 5 years; sweep it clean and re-apply a layer of hot tar. UV exposure will dry-out and damage the rubber membrane as well as the tar.

[peakbagger]

By the way, I have considered and am keeping an eye out for UV resistant resilient rubber gaskets that could serve to reduce water from coming in on high pitch installations. I am not expecting water tight but expect that "T" type gasket that inserts into a slot between the panels would shed a lot of water. I was thinking about it for a equipment storage area. The tough part would be how to deal with the intersections of four panels. I expect it would be cut and glue the joints.

[markshaw21]

Interesting discussion. I wonder if anyone know of solar roof tiles for a pitched roof? Would that work? solar panels uk

[Mike90250]

they keep inventing them, and going bankrupt. Wiring them is nightmareish, and warranty claims were "through the roof"

[solarix]

There is a product called EasyRoof by IRFTS, that I've thought would work for pitched roofs. A big flashing for solar panels. Not cheap but offset by not having to do roofing underneath might be viable. Have never had the chance to try it myself. Forget trying to use panels as roofing on a flat roof. Besides being certain to leak, as soon as your panels get clouded up with dirt, which won't wash off as they are laying flat, you would end up with expensive roofing.