There’s an immense amount of interest out there from folks who want to go the “Do it yourself” solar route for electricity and hot water heating (for the difference between these two types of solar technologies, check out an earlier blog post by Graham Alexander).
I understand why: it looks deceptively simple to throw some panels on the roof and hook them up. Plus, installing your own solar would eliminate the cost of hiring a professional, making it an attractive idea for anyone interested in lowering their utility bills or reducing their carbon footprint. Of course, some people with the right kind of background can do a good job on their own, but we get a lot of calls from solar DIY-ers who get started, and realize quickly that they’re in way over their heads. That’s why we’re writing this post. We hope it will serve as a resource for anyone considering a DIY solar photovoltaic or solar thermal project, and raise awareness about the possible risks of attempting to go solar on your own.
Safety First
A code-compliant solar photovoltaic system installed by a skilled and experienced installer is as safe as any other electrical component in your home. Unfortunately, it’s not over-dramatic to say that an inexperienced DIY-er could make a mistake that starts a fire or, even worse, suffer an injury – nasty things like burns, falls, and electric shock – while trying to install PV panels. Solar power takes a diverse level of expertise; it is sort of a cross section of several types of electrical work — AC, DC and advanced grounding for starters. Even for someone with a base level of electrical knowledge, it’s vital to have the input of an experienced (licensed) electrician. These systems can operate at up to 600 volts of direct current electricity, and since your power source is the sun (and nobody can do much work in the dark) you aren’t in charge of the on off switch! Once the panels are up and wired, we actually have a 60-step checklist that every solar technician goes through on the last day of an install, just to make sure everything is done properly and safely — and that the system is performing to its full potential.
Solar thermal systems can be tough, too, but for different reasons: they require a tremendous amount of plumbing expertise. Any small mistake can lead to a leak, and if it’s in the wrong place, you can cause severe damage to the home.
Secondarily, not all solar hot water heating technology types are appropriate for use in mixed climates. North Carolina may not have the most bitter winters, but you’ve got to accommodate for those 2-3 brutally cold days a year; that’s a bad time to figure out that the system you bought on ebay doesn’t have freeze protection. A lot of folks shopping by price comparison might wonder why a particular system type costs more, and this is just one of the reasons why.
And then there’s this to consider: we do what plumbers and electricians do – but on the roof! The DIY electrician or plumber might see parts of a solar install that match their skill set (i.e. the ground work components such as inverters or water heating tanks), but taking those skills and applying them while hanging from a safety rope is a total game changer. A fair comparison might be juggling: a lot of people may be able to juggle, but only a small percentage of those can still do it safely with knives…while riding a unicycle.
Photo by: Brian Auer
It Takes Paperwork to Put the Sun to Work for Your Home
Home solar systems take a lot of regulatory maneuvering that we’re used to dealing with on a daily basis. For PV in particular, there are federal, state and local permits, along with utility interconnect paperwork that have to be filed according to very precise rules and specifications. Electricity production is a regulated industry, so you’re not legally allowed to simply go off-grid or connect your system into the existing grid without a slew of inspections — and meter technology has advanced to the point that power companies can detect if you’ve set up a system illegally. Meanwhile, local permitting jurisdictions will likely want things like structural analysis of the roof, stamped engineering drawings and estimates on the wind uplift for the solar array. You’ve got to be Photo by: HB Art ready to answer questions like, “What’s the pullout strength of a 4.5-inch stainless steel lag bolt out of knotty pine?”
The paperwork isn’t limited to the installation and connection phase of the project, either. One of the big draws for solar technology is the amount of help out there to pay for it: tax credits can typically offset half the cost. Claiming those tax credits, though, can be tough to figure out without help, and if people don’t file the proper paperwork, they could be stuck with the entire bill come tax season.
Quality Counts
Many of the benefits of going solar can be lost if the system isn’t done right – just ask anyone who remembers the solar surge of the 70s, when expanded incentives led every handyman with a truck to start offering solar installations despite having no solar experience or training. The result wasn’t pretty for many home owners, and it wasn’t pretty for solar in general as poorly installed systems delivered less than optimal aesthetics or performance.
From designing the right-sized solar array to picking the right panels for your site’s layout and roof type – a lot of decisions go into ensuring a quality solar installation. You can get seemingly decent rates for off-brand or refurbished panels, but much of the PV equipment that’s funnelled towards DIY customers, for example, doesn’t meet UL standards and regulations. Even if everything gets installed and connected properly, it can be very hard for nonprofessionals to gauge the efficiency of a project that likely took a lot of time, effort and money.
All of this is not to say that DIY solar can’t be done by those with the unique skill set required to both design and install a solar system. But the reality is that both PV and solar thermal are complex home projects, and someone who isn’t qualified to tackle these faces the prospect of having an expensive paperweight on his or her roof.
If you’ve got the right experience and expertise to seriously consider doing your own solar from start to finish, hopefully this article has helped shed light on some of the risks so you can go in with eyes open. There’s a lot of misinformation out there, but if you really want to explore doing it yourself, consider checking in with some folks at this DIY solar panel forum. To clarify, we don’t have any association with that page, but they seem to know what they’re talking about.
David Boynton is Director of Solar Operations at Southern Energy Management. Read more about him here.
Tags: DIY solar, do it yourself solar
Great post! People should also understand the added costs associated with installing solar panels on top of shingle/asphalt roofs.
First there is going to be an extra cost when you have your roof replaced, whether from hail damage or just the overall end of life cycle.
Second, if your roof is absorbing the heat from the sun and forcing your a/c unit to be continuously running your newly created energy from the sun is going to be wasted on keeping that air conditioning running.
Take a look at alternative roofing options such as metal roofing. It’s not the same tin roof barn material that it was 20 years ago. Many companies today sell metal roofing that is coated with a chemical substance (kynar 500) that was developed to reflect the heat from the sun away from building structures.
Visit http://www.energyroofingsystems.net for more information on alternative roofing options.
Michael,
Thanks for the comment – you raise some interesting points.
When it comes to a solar project, if your roof is near the end of its effective life span, it makes sense to replace it first. However, if a replacement is a few years off, placing solar panels in service will actually delay the time to replacement for those sections of shingle under the panels. It isn’t uncommon for folks to replace shingles around a solar array and leave the shingles under the modules in place.
Same reason shingles last longer is the same reason that I’ll qualify your statement about heat load to the attic. Solar panels are directly intercepting the sunlight (energy) that would normally hit your shingles and converting a good portion of it to electricity. The vast majority of solar panels sit off of the roof a few inches, so the natural ventilation that results as the panels heat up(think breeze off of the water at the beach) sends a lot of heat back skyward. Net result is that heat energy that would normally go into your attic doesn’t anymore – read, your a/c unit runs less.
Having said all of that, I share your enthusiasm for alternative roofing options. Advances in metal roof coatings (Energy Star approved options!) give home owners the darker colored metal roof options that were historically labeled as impractical from an energy standpoint.
Again, thanks for the interest in the blog and we’ll hope to see you again.