|
Does your house face -South, Southwest, Southeast, East or West?
Is your roof free of obstacles:
- Skylights
- Roof fans
- Chimneys
- Shade from trees or buildings (most of the day)
Are your roof shingles less than 10 years old or still in good condition?
Do you own the building?
If you have answered yes to the above questions a Solar Photovoltaic Electric System (PV system) will work for you! let’s continue...
- Is increasing the resale value of your home a good idea?
- Does earning between 3% and 10% tax free return on your investment sound good to you?
- Do you like the idea that a Solar Photovataic Electric System can return a greater percent of investment than a new kitchen or bathroom?
- Is it a reasonable idea to reduce your air conditioning cost by reducing the heat in your attic?
- Would you like to sell excess power back to your power company?
- Do you want to make a difference in the environment for your children and your grandchildren?
The installed weight of the average system is less than 5 lbs. a sq. ft. This is not a problem for the vast majority of homes, however, if you have covered the original roof shingles with a second layer of shingles both layers must be removed and new roof shingles applied.
Shading and solar are mutually exclusive. The most common shading comes from trees. There is a guide to help you identify a tree or trees or other obstructions that may compromise the efficiency of the solar modules.
Shade is not a friend to PV. Chimneys, tall buildings and trees can shade an array and render it non-productive. Determine the height of the array, determine the height of the shade object and calculate the difference. If the object is to the south the object should be no closer than 3 times the difference. If the object is to the east or west the object
For roof facing solar South (194°) to Southeast or Southwest (149°-239°)
use A-B=C then C X 3=D
For roof facing solar East (104°), West (284°), East Southeast (126°), West Southwest (263°) use A-B=C then C X 2=D
Key:
A = Height of shade object
B = Height of lowest point of the array
C = The difference between A and B
D = The distance the array should be from the shade object.
Link to Azimuth Diagram (pdf)
Link to Shade Finder Detail (pdf)
| |
Flat |
4:12 |
7:12 |
12:12 |
21:12 |
Vertical |
| South |
0.89 |
0.97 |
1.00 |
0.97 |
0.89 |
0.58 |
| SSE, SSW |
0.89 |
0.97 |
0.99 |
0.96 |
0.88 |
0.59 |
| SE, SW |
0.89 |
0.95 |
0.96 |
0.93 |
0.85 |
0.60 |
| ESE, WWS |
0.89 |
0.92 |
0.91 |
0.87 |
0.79 |
0.57 |
| E, W |
0.89 |
0.88 |
0.84 |
0.78 |
0.70 |
0.52 |
For Southern Hudson Valley, NYC and Western Connecticut:
Vincent Ricotta 845 225 8892
For Western Connecticut:
Scott McNoughton 860 344 8616
|
