DalesRenewables
Electrical, Heating & Plumbing Contractors
Solar PV Site Selection
To help you evaluate your site and confirm whether or not it is suitable for a Solar PV, take a look at the following
guidelines. You can also complete our solar PV assessment survey to get advice from one of our microgeneration
experts.
PV arrays can be mounted in a range of locations but the roof of a building usually provides the best and simplest site.
PV systems are modular, allowing a great degree of flexibility in design and specification. In practice, the size of a
system is often determined by the available roof space. A standard 1kWp PV array will occupy at least 8m² of roof.
The ideal roof is one that faces south with a slope of around 30-40°. However, other orientations and pitches can be
viable with relatively little drop in performance (see table below).
Any shade, such as from trees or neighbouring buildings, can make a large impact on the performance of a PV system.
To work effectively, the whole PV array needs to be free from shade for the majority of the day. Do you have any
chimneys, trees, or surrounding buildings that cast a shade over your roof?
Although Solar PV systems are not normally heavy enough to cause structural problems, if your roof is in poor
condition we would recommend that you undertake a structural survey before proceeding with your installation. If
your roof is in need of repair it is worth doing this at the same time as your PV installation to utilise the cost of the
scaffolding
The cost of the installation may be increased for slate or clay tiled roofs, as the PV systems are secured to the roof
using stainless steel “roof hooks”. These hooks provide a very robust means of attachment and don’t compromise the
weather proofing of the existing roof. Fixing these hooks to concrete tiled roofs is a relatively straightforward process.
However, due to the way slate and clay tiles are laid, many more need to be removed to fit the hook, and layers of
flashing are needed for weatherproofing - hence these installations are slower and more costly in terms of labour.
Solar PV site selection
Case
Studies
