For a good solar installation, you need sun.

Ask these questions about your roof’s exposure:

• Does your roof shade from a tree?
  Even a small amount of shade can adversely affect the amount of solar electricity generated. If your roof is in the shade, there are other possible installation options, including ground mounts.
• Is your roof facing south, east or west?
  Roofs facing south get the best sunlight for solar power, but east-facing and west-facing panels get a high percentage of the possible energy as well.
• How big is your roof?
  The larger the installation of solar panels, the bigger the roof will need to be.

♬ They ain’t heavy, they’re my solar panels

You will not need to reinforce your roof for the weight of a PV system.

Although a solar system installation weighs hundreds of pounds, the weight of the installation is spread out over a large area of your roof; you will not need to reinforce the roof.

Will I need to re-shingle my roof?

Many of our solar panels have a 25 year manufacturer’s warrantee, so a question we often get is whether or not a roof should be re-shingled before the solar panels are installed. The answer is: it depends… Most of our installations do not need a new roof: when the solar panels get installed, they will be blocking a lot of wear and tear (UV rays, snow, rain, etc.), so your roof will wear less than normal.

What about the snow? Does Denver solar make sense?

Snow does block the sun from the panels, but when we design your solar system, we will take into account the average amount of snowfall and factor that in to our calculations of how many solar panels you will need. It snows, but we plan for it, and solar is still a great fit for the sunny Denver area.

Any questions?

Would you like to know more about solar power and your roof?  Leave a comment below, and we’ll answer your question.

Keeping you informed about solar power in Denver, Colorado

The world of clean, green energy is changing rapidly. There are new tax incentives, expiring programs with energy companies like Xcel Energy, and a slew of information and misconceptions about solar technology.

With the Denver Solar Blog, we spread the word with the latest information about solar in the state of Colorado and the Denver metro area. Please subscribe to the blog to receive updates!