26 Aug Considering Solar Panels on Your Roof?

Have you ever considered installing solar panels on your roof? Whether you’re considering them for power or plumbing purposes, In the House host Jared Mellick has some helpful information about your options.
Probably the most common type of solar panels you find around Florida residential areas is for swimming pool systems. As water is pumped through it, the panels heat up the water and circulate it back through the pool. Another common solar panel system is used to produce hot water for plumbing in the home, which works on the same principle as the pool system. Similarly, there’s also a supplement system for electric water tanks which will switch between the two whether the sun is or isn’t out or the water has dropped below a certain temperature. Finally, there are PV (photovoltaic) solar panels which supplement energy to your home.
The required maintenance for these 3 types of solar panels is generally all the same. Installation of any of these panels on your roof requires holes being put through your roof, and any holes in your roof need special care so they don’t leak. Now some panels are better than others in that they will require less maintenance, the best of which are ones where the actual bracket system is not in a stationary location. Instead, it can be slid side to side to make sure that it is being installed into the roof trusses as opposed to just the sheathing.
What you’ll find with the systems that circulate water is that as the water will cause a lot of expansion and contraction due to the fluctuating temperature differences. We call this “thermal movement,” and if the bracket around the line is not anchored into the roof truss system, and just installed into the deck sheathing, then that thermal movement will cause the bracket to come loose very easily.
No matter what system you go with, it needs to be properly sealed and caulked on a regular basis. I recommend every four to eight seasons, about once a year to every other year minimum. It’s best to have your original solar panel company come by to go up on the roof to inspect and reseal it at those times. Another thing is to make sure that any roof debris – leaves, sticks and such – do not collect around those brackets.
If you are considering solar panels for your home, first make sure your roof is structurally sound in order to handle the system you may install. Call the professionals at Universal Roof & Contracting for a free roof inspection; let our roofing experts help you prepare and prevent future costly repairs.
Listen Saturday mornings to “In the House”. Get more Home Tips and show info at the In the House website. For a free inspection and estimate on your next Home Improvement Project, visit Universal Roof & Contracting or call now. Orlando: 407-295-7403 Jacksonville: 904-647-3907.