I have an A-frame house that seems to be ideally suited for solar (a lot of surface area). I will need new shingles or tin roofing at some point in the not-to-distant future. Will that affect it as well? I am trying to go as green as possible.

Best answer:

Answer by scott h
First off does one side of your A frame roof face south?

Since that is where the sun is that is where the collectors must face. If this is not the case your not going to want to mount collectors on the roof. You can put them on pedestals, some of these will actually track the sun to increase the amount of power you collect.

If you are going to need to re-roof your home you will want to do it before collectors are put on your roof.

Next you will need a fairly large amount of money. They tell me that it would take about $ 35,000 to provide most of my electricity using photovoltaic panels (it won’t be enough to run my air conditioner though). This makes it a non-starter for me since we spend less than $ 1200 per year on power.

If you are still in the hunt your best bet is to now go located a local solar installer. These guys will be able to design the system for you and won’t make the rookie mistakes a first timer will.

Most people will get the most value for their dollar by sealing up your house for better energy efficiency (a couple of tubes of caulk) instead of purchasing solar cells. Next on most peoples list will be to add a more insulation to their attics.

A good source of information about home solar power is the magazine called Home power. You can find them at www.homepower.com

I hope this helps.

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