There are so many benefits to making solar your home’s primary energy source. It reduces your electricity bills, is eco-friendly, and can even boost your home’s value. However, not every house is ready for solar panel installation. It’s important to work with a trusted solar expert who can evaluate your home, roof, and energy needs to determine if solar is the right fit before making the switch to cleaner energy.

An illustration of solar panels.

We’ve broken down the essential considerations into three easy questions. Spoiler alert: your roof material and local climate have major impacts on your home’s solar readiness. With answers to these questions, you’ll be well on your way to converting your home to solar power.

1. What type of roof do you have?

You’ll first want to inspect your current roof. Different roofing materials and designs can affect the solar power installation process as well as the efficiency of your solar panels. A Trinity Solar Expert can help you determine if your roof is a good fit for solar. Here are the three main things to consider about your roof when deciding on solar panels:

  • Material: The best roof material for solar panels are asphalt shingles, metal, and tile. If you have a wood or slate roof, your installation process may be more complex. You may need additional mounting structures or special installation techniques.
  • Age and condition: Is your roof fairly new, or is it nearing the end of its lifespan? If your answer leans toward the latter, you may want to complete that project before installing your solar panels. Older roofs may not be structurally sound enough to support solar panels and a replacement may be suggested.
  • Shape and size: The size of your roof and any unique structures will be factored into your system design. Skylights, peaks, and slopes will affect the difficulty of the installation process, but a skilled installer like Trinity can handle nearly anything. We’ll also consider these features when designing your system to make it as efficient as possible.

2. How much sunlight does your roof get?

The amount of sunlight your roof gets is another important factor in how efficient your solar power system will be. After all, the energy it generates comes from the sun! Each state has a different average amount of daily sun, however, there are a few more elements to consider than that.

  • Roof orientation: Since we’re in the northern hemisphere, south-facing roofs will receive the most sunlight throughout the day. East and West-facing roofs can also work, but may produce less energy.
  • Shading: How much shade does your roof get? Trees, buildings, chimneys, and other features can obstruct sunlight, so make sure to get a good look at your roof throughout multiple times of the day.
  • Roof tilt: The angle of your roof will also factor into your solar panel’s rate of absorption. You’ll typically want a tilt between 15-40 degrees. If you want to find the ideal tilt angle for your roof specifically, just take the latitude of your house.

3. What’s your local climate like?

Last, but certainly not least, is your geographical location. Your state’s climate plays a massive role in how much sunlight you can expect. Florida and Maine, for example, will have vastly different calculations. Even areas not typically known for abundant sunlight can still be great for solar. Here’s what you can check:

  • Sunlight hours: As mentioned above, it’s important to think about how much sunlight you get on average throughout the year. Do you live in a particularly cloudy area, or do you have more bright, sunny days? Think about the entire year in this assessment and remember to integrate these numbers into your power needs.
  • Temperature: Different types of solar panels perform well in different temperatures. Polycrystalline panels, for example, don’t do as well in extreme heat as monocrystalline panels. There are solar panel options available for extreme temperatures, but most areas of the United States won’t need such coverage.
  • Snow and rain: You may be concerned about snow or rain blocking your solar panels from receiving sunlight. Fortunately, solar panels are designed to allow snow to slide right off, and rain can even help clean them! Winter weather occurrences shouldn’t drive you away from solar panels.

Calculate solar panel savings

So, are solar panels worth it? It takes just 5-10 years for most homeowners to see a return on their investment. Since most solar panels have a warranty coverage of 25-30 years (but work efficiently for even longer than that), we would say yes! But you don’t just have to take our word for it. There’s an easy way to determine if it’s a good investment for you.

By taking your electricity usage, local utility rates, and available incentives, you can get a rough estimate of potential savings solar energy can bring you. Let’s do a quick example so you can see how these calculations work.

Solar panel saving calculation example

Let’s go through a hypothetical scenario. Let’s say your monthly electric bill is $150 and your solar panel system size is 6 kW (kilowatts). Now, we’ll take the average annual sunlight hours for this hypothetical area. In this case, the amount will total to 1,500 hours per year. The last piece of information needed is the cost per kWh (kilowatt-hours) from your utility company. In this scenario, we’ll use $0.15.

Now, we can start plugging numbers into our calculation:

  1. Step one: Determine annual energy production:
    • 6 kW system × 1,500 sunlight hours = 9,000 kWh per year.
  2. Step two: Estimate annual savings
    • 9,000 kWh × $0.15 per kWh = $1,350 in savings per year.
  3. Consider any additional incentives and paybacks.

Get an expert opinion from Trinity

While these factors can give you a general idea of whether your home is suitable for solar panels, the best way to ensure proper and worry-free installation is to consult a Solar Expert. Trinity has been offering energy with integrity since 1994. And, since we know just how important roofing is to solar energy, we also offer a variety of roofing services.

Get started on your solar power journey today. Schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our Solar Experts.