How do I know if my roof is suitable for solar panels?

Posted by amaya porwal on September 16th, 2017

With the adoption of Rooftop Solar Panels, power generation has become decentralised. Now, Ordinary households can generate their own electricity, transmit it to the utility grid and incur direct savings on their power bill. Installing Home Solar is no doubt a good investment that saves your hard-earned money for 25 long years. But how effective your roof would be for Rooftop Solar plant depends on many factors ranging from the roof of your house to government regulations and policies.

Roof Size

The capacity of the rooftop solar system is constrained by the surface area of your rooftop. To generate 1 kW power, you would need about 100 square feet of roof area. If your house doesn’t have enough roof space, then solar panels can also be installed at alternative sites like sheds and garage. But its feasibility depends on the incidence of sunlight and the strength of the structures for handling the weight of solar arrays and mounting panels.

Roof Orientation

The general rule is that the panels should face the direction of Earth’s equator for optimum solar power generation. For houses located in countries of Northern Hemisphere like India, solar panels work best when facing south. For the same reason, south facing roofs are preferable is they are sloped. Panels facing south east and south west are also practical. East and West facing panels are also feasible but these would generate more power during morning and evening than during afternoon when peak sunlight is available.

Free Space and Shading

Solar Panels don’t need direct sunshine and can generate power even under shade, even if it is suboptimal. Nearby buildings and trees can cast shadows on the panels and reduce its efficiency. Elevated Solar Arrays can resolve shade issues to a large extent so that solar panel capacity can be fully utilized.

Net Metering Policy in your State

Net metering is a billing mechanism through which residents who have installed Home Solar system on their rooftop can earn credits for the solar power supplied to the grid, which gets deducted in the subsequent month’s power bill. Every Indian state has their own net metering policy to promote Rooftop Solar. Check rooftop policy document of your local government or consult with Ujaas to know more about it.

Household Power Consumption

Energy efficiency, feasible solar capacity and electricity consumption pattern of your household determines how economical it is for you to install Home Solar. Contact Ujaas team to get the complete analysis of your power usage and get an estimate for your Home Solar capacity so that can cut your electricity bill by half.