Can roofs be entirely covered with solar panels to run the homes electricity? If so why don’t they?

13 Responses to Can roofs be entirely covered with solar panels to run the homes electricity? If so why don’t they?

1. Don K says:

   September 1, 2011 at 4:21 pm

   No you can not cover your complete roof. You have to leave a min of 16 inches (30 inches in Florida) from the eve and 12 inches between the edges and the top and sides. This is because if you were to bring the solar array to the edge the wind could get under them and take them off your roof.

   Second is the fact that in most areas the Electric Co. will only trade you kWh for kWh. Meaning any over production you give to them for free. So it is a not profitable to over produce.

   Now as far as the cost of the system goes. No matter how low the cost of your electric. Putting a solar electric system on your home will still save you more dollars then most people can understand. People don’t understand they are renting electric when they could own it. It is just like renting a home. When you rent your home in the end you still have nothing. You can’t sell it and get your money back because you was renting. If you own your home and you own and you own the Electric Co. (solar electric system) you can move out and get all the money you spent on the home and on the solar electric system back. So that means you had free rent on your home for the last 5 or 10 years and the same for the solar electric system. Free electric and free rent is profit not loss. Plus you always sell for more then you paid right?
2. Doug S says:

   September 1, 2011 at 3:43 pm

   Solar panels are on the verge of being a great idea. However, they are just too expensive to get that title right now.

   The only way for solar to be economic is to have them heavily subsidized and then finance the costs (as a previous poster suggested). Without the subsidy, the financing simply isn’t enough.

   Also, many/most energy companies do not give the homeowner a full credit on their excess electricity production. That means the homeowner is giving cheap electricity to the energy company and buying expensive electricity once the sun goes down.

   For now, governments need to subsidize homeowners/businesses and buy solar for their own buildings. As efficiencies rise and prices fall…then you will start seeing the sprouting of green roofs across the country. But not before.
3. STEPHEN R says:

   September 1, 2011 at 3:35 pm

   Same in CA AZ TX CO ID PR, USVI.
   Regulations
   Taxes
   Lack Incentives to Produce
   Oil Lobby
   Utility Lobby
   Cost to Home Buyers.
   EZ to Install?
   Effective.
   Narrow minds as CEOs & running Unions.
   NO fwd thinking
   NO creative problem solving.

   We can roof whole Hotels, resorts, schools, airports, seaports with Solar alone.
   (aside homes).
   Wow.
4. GABY says:

   September 1, 2011 at 2:54 pm

   You can, if you have a lot of money to waste, or if you just want to pay a lot more for your electricity to help the environment. Of course,you will still need to have your electric company supply or a gas/diesel generator to get you through rainy days and nights, or when you want air conditioning.

   Solar energy works very well, but it just isn’t cost effective in most areas. Also, most Americans will not put up with the discomfort and inconvenience one must endure with a totally independent system with battery storage and generator.
5. Kite says:

   September 1, 2011 at 2:00 pm

   Well here in Africa, we are concerned about how to take care of rust on the roofs and leakages, among other problems. I envy you guys..
6. Wolf Harper says:

   September 1, 2011 at 1:44 pm

   You can, but the main problem is financing and finding people willing to take the financial risks involved. It’s a lot like financing a home, actually!

   For instance let’s say you put a $50,000 array on your house.
   FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!! WHO CAN AFFORD THAT?
   And that’s why most people don’t do solar.

   But wait. Let’s finance that $50,000 as a home-improvement mortgage at 6%. That’s only $300/month extra on your mortgage. PRE-tax.
   Mortgage interest is tax deductible. So, for a lot of people, it’s more like $200/month after-tax.
   If that’s making $250/month worth of electric power that you sell back to the electric company… CHA-CHING! You’re profit ahead from DAY ONE. And you’ve increased the value of your house. And electricity prices are only going up.

   But a lot of people, they get the math wrong.

   Or they refuse to consider mortgages or tax benefits because they consider that stuff to be black magic or a scam.

   Financial education! Learn about money. Taxes are taxes, no scam there. A lot of mortgages ARE scams! Stick with prime, fixed-percentage simple interest loans, typically at 6-7% right now, and make sure the numbers make sense. If and only if they do, THEN consider “alternative” mortgages like ARMs, IO or neg-am.
7. Bob says:

   September 1, 2011 at 12:54 pm

   It still costs more money than just buying your power from the power company.

   With tax incentives, it’s getting close. You’ll see it get cheaper and more people start using it.
8. JOHNNIE B says:

   September 1, 2011 at 12:31 pm

   U can but it is very expensive . To make it work u mist have a large battery bank to supply your power at night. Makes sure u tie them down well as I did a $15,000 worth of solar cells for a radio repeater . WE built it on top of a mountain . WE got it complete and it lasted for about 3 months and a wind storm blew the solar cells all over the jungle. Make sure that u build strong supports so just a wind storm will not hurt . Good luck.
9. Lester P says:

   September 1, 2011 at 12:19 pm

   Yes they can and some do, paying on the order of $10,000 for a typical size house to take it off the electrical grid. I have been hoping those prices go down for several years now, but they haven’t budged as the semiconductor and electronics industry concentrates on providing us more fully featured timewasters like iPhones, iMacs, iPods and other iCrap.
10. ed031639 says:

    September 1, 2011 at 11:27 am

    The cost of solar panels & associated equipment compared to the electricity they produce would take you 100 yrs of use to show a cost saving on the typical American home.
    Chuckle, I know this will hurt some of the more ignorant greenies here, but until we make some significant advances in solar cell efficiency & cost, solar will remain too expensive for the average American.
11. Mike S says:

    September 1, 2011 at 11:08 am

    At this time solar panels are very in-efficient. The space and weight of the panels is expensive for the return you get of the converted sunlight. ( I thinks its only like 20 %). Scientists are really betting on nano-technology, to increase efficiency up to 70 percent but still have a few technological break throughs to conquer. One of the main space shuttle missions, is to make nano machines in space vacuum, that show promise to your very question.
12. joecool123_us says:

    September 1, 2011 at 10:55 am

    Yes.
    Because they cost money and people are resistant to change.
13. blaiseshimmer says:

    September 1, 2011 at 10:48 am

    Depends on the amount of electricity used in your home. Central air conditioning alone accounts for the lion’s share of kilowatts used in a house.