Installing Solar Panels in your Home
Solar panel installation can often be a tricky business, handling expensive, fragile equipment in areas that are often high off the ground. Particularly treacherous on tiled or slanted roofs, this guide should help ease the fears when fitting in your new gear.
Hopefully your decision to equip your house or garden with solar panels is one that has been taken after a great deal of thought and relevant research. However for those who are currently perched on the fence, it should be noted that as a homeowner you must have the necessary tools to take on this venture. For starters, due to the expense of solar energy technology, this should never be a lightly taken proposition and requires a great deal of forward planning. As rhetoric as it sounds, if you are attaching the panels to a rooftop, it must belong to you or, you must have permission to use it from the owner. The roof should also be as flat as possible and made of a hardened material. Although there is room for manoeuvre in every case, attaching panels to a steep thatch roof simply isn't going to work.
When considering solar panel installation ii is also important to consider the problems that you might encounter. The panels are dependent of regular exposure to sunlight, so if a large building or immovable object blocks your roof from the sun, they you may want to re-consider implementing them. Also, investigate the material in which the top of the building is built. Composition shingle surfaces are the ideal for the installation, however other terrains can be very problematic. Slate roofs in particular can be like walking of ice and this is the last thing you want, when handling a very expensive and heavy piece of equipment 20 feet off the ground.
Before you begin the installation of solar panels, there is a certain amount of preparation that is required for the task ahead. Any objects such as tree branches or TV aerials, that threaten to obstruct the panels from sunlight, need to be removed or trimmed back. You also need to consider the construction process itself. Although companies are available to install your solar units for you, they are sparsely located and very expensive, so it is likely that you are going to be installing the equipment yourself. When attacking this, it is imperative that you do not do this alone, in the event of any untoward accident that may befall you. Seeing as you are going to have to rope in a friend or family member, try and make this someone who is familiar with installation or construction and has experience in climbing roofs.
On a flat-bedded roof, installing solar panels can be a very simple procedure. Obviously products differ, but most can be equipped using a few easy to follow steps. Step 1 is to lay out the solar panel mounts along thee roof, corresponding to the dimensions given in the installation pack. You then need to align these mounts perpendicular to one another to ensure that a metal rail will slide on securely. Step 2 is to carefully attach the said metal rails to your solar panel mounts, fixing them in with the brackets supplied. Finally, step 3 is to safely lower your solar photovoltaic panels onto the base that you have created, stand back and admire your handy work. It is fundamental however that you ensure that the panels are very secure and are unable to move from their position, as don't you don't want them blowing away.
Once installing the solar panels is near enough complete, you should be aware to make constant adjustments to guarantee that you are maximising the amount of sunlight that is collected. Several web based programs are readily available that can help you understand the positioning of the sun, and which angle of direction to point your solar panels in. The key to attaining the ultimate effect of solar energy, is to keep wise to the positioning of the sun and adapt your panels accordingly.
The final note on installing solar panels is to make sure that you are fully safety conscious when performing the task. If you are attaching the equipment to a roof, which is angled, tiled or high off the ground, then you should always use a safety harness. This has the clever effect of stopping you from hurtling towards the floor, if you do happen to slip. It also important to remember that you are handling thousands of pounds worth of equipment so it is crucial that you are over-sensitive when carrying or fitting them.