In a world of steadily increasing energy costs, solar energy has never looked as attractive as today — it is undeniably less expensive than fossil fuel-generated power. While bulky solar panels have been the norm for solar-powered homes, more homeowners are turning to the growing selection of solar roofing options for a more attractive roof.
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Although they’re effective at producing energy, solar panels have not always been very attractive. They can be heavy, bulky, and can lower your home’s curb appeal even while they’re lowering your energy costs. A sleeker alternative, solar roofing looks more like a traditional roof made of shingles, tiles, or metal panels. But just like solar panels, a solar roof harvests the sun’s energy to convert it into electricity you can use every day.
The main drawback of solar roofs right now is the cost. Compared to the average cost to replace a roof ($14,000 for a 2,000 square-foot architectural shingles roof at $7-$15 per square foot) and the cost to install solar panels ($18,000 for a 6-kilowatt system installed on the roof) combined, solar roofs can be more costly.
In this article, we’ll look at the different types of solar roofing, their pros and cons, and the average cost to have them installed in . Is a solar roof right for your home?
Solar Shingles
Solar shingles are one of the hottest buzzwords in the solar industry right now. These highly durable roofing shingles mimic the look of a shingle roof but are embedded with silicon solar crystals. This can ideally give you the best of both worlds; an attractive roof and decreased energy bills.
Available Options
As of right now, there are four main brands of solar shingles: Tesla, CertainTeed, Luma, and SunTegra. Of these, CertainTeed is a roofing and building material manufacturer that has jumped into the solar energy game. The others began as solar companies, then branched into roofing. All these companies offer solar shingles that match the appearance of traditional asphalt shingles, concrete tiles, or shingles that have a look all their own with a sleek, black, flat appearance. The growing selection of designs means that you can have your solar cells and an attractive look that complements your home.
Advantages and Disadvantages
The most important advantage to using solar shingles is the enhanced curb appeal for your home after they are installed. Rather than large, heavy panels installed over your current roofing, a modern solar roof will look like, well, a roof. Without the panels mounted on your roof, you also don’t have to worry about leaks or roofing deterioration; solar shingles are surprisingly durable and long-lasting.
In most instances, it is recommended that you cover the entire roof with solar shingles in order to maximize your output and get the same amount of wattage as with solar panels. In some cases, it’s also possible to mix the solar shingles with other roofing materials. Depending on the manufacturer, you may need to use their non-solar shingles to create a match with the rest of the roof. For example, if you have an area that is perpetually in the shade, and you choose Tesla shingles, you will need to use Tesla’s non-solar shingles in the shady areas to match your solar shingles.
Solar shingles do have some drawbacks compared to traditional panels. Each solar shingle tends to produce less wattage than the same area of traditional panels. To equal the output of the standard 10 to 14 panels a house may need, you will need to cover your entire roof with solar shingles. On the other hand, mixing solar and non-solar shingles can provide flexibility. For example, if you want the shingles to power your garage only, you can just install them there. There may be a subtle difference in the appearance of the shingles on the two areas.
You’ll also need to make sure that your entire roof is free of debris, dirt, and snow to help keep power flowing optimally.
Average Costs
Costs will vary depending on the brand. For most solar shingles, expect to pay between $20 and $25 a square foot for most homes, around $45,000 for a 2,000 square-foot roof.
Metal Solar Roofing
Metal solar roofing is an alternative for those who want all-over solar roofing but don’t like the look or costs of shingles. A metal solar roof is essentially a standing seam roof with solar film inside the metal sections. Your roof will be nearly identical to any other standing seam metal roof — this is a roof made of metal panels with a connecting seam that sits above the panels themselves. They’ll have all the benefits of a metal roof, such as durability, but with the added bonus of solar technology as well.
Available Options
Several companies make metal solar roofing, including INroof Solar and Roofit.solar. Because the solar technology is built into the roof, their roofs look identical to a regular standing seam metal roof.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Metal solar roofing comes with many of the same concerns as solar shingles. You must install them over your entire roof to get the same benefits. And you need to keep the entire roof free of snow, dirt, and debris. One advantage of the metal roofing, however, is that snow tends to slide right off, so you’re less likely to need to get out there and do it yourself. Metal solar roofing also looks like traditional standing seam roofing and is highly durable. It’s not likely to crack or dent in storms or with hailstones, so it can outlast traditional panels.
Average Costs
Prices start around $12.75 a square foot for a metal solar roof, which is on the high end of a traditional metal roof, but lower than the cost of solar shingles. Your costs can vary by company and design, as well as by the total size of your roof; however, you can expect the cost of metal solar roofing to start around $25,000 for a 2,000 square-foot roof.
Interlocking Solar Roof Panels
After years of high costs, solar roof panels are now the least expensive and most efficient way to get solar energy to your home. But most people don’t like the racking system, which is both visible and can damage the roof below. Interlocking solar roof panels solve these issues. Essentially, these are solar panels that install right on your roof deck — no racking or roofing material beneath them. The edges of the panels interlock and are sealed to create one, smooth, complete surface. While these are more visible than solar shingles or metal panels, they’re less obvious than traditional solar panels. They can also potentially provide more wattage for the coverage, allowing you to go off-grid more easily.
Available Options
As of right now, two companies are making this type of solar roofing: GAF and SunTegra. GAF is one of the oldest roofing manufacturers, which means that they understand the limitations of what can be placed on a roof deck. SunTegra, on the other hand, is better versed in solar technology and maximizing the output from each panel. Both can give you a sleek-looking roof without the metal racking system of traditional solar panels.
Advantages and Disadvantages
The biggest advantage of this system is its simplicity and efficiency. A traditional solar installation would start with a new roof, if you needed one, with the solar panels installed on top. But with this system, there’s no need to install a new roof because the panels are the roofing — there is no roof below the panels. As a result, the panels are less prominent than traditional solar panels, and concerns about heavy panels damaging the roof are virtually eliminated. This option also has the potential to produce higher watts than other types of solar roofing.
Depending on your aesthetics, one drawback with this system is that it will look like you covered your roof with solar panels. The panels are smooth and installed together over the entirety, but it does not look like any other roofing material currently in use today. Also, they can be more expensive than some other solar installations, particularly if you don’t need a new roof.
Average Costs
This option of solar roofing tends to be priced by the watt, much like traditional solar systems. But while a solar panel system installed on an existing roof may cost just under $3 a watt, these systems cost nearly $5 a watt, including the materials that may not be producing solar energy. This means that for a 2,000 square-foot home, you would pay between $30,000 and $35,000 for a 6,000- to 7,000-watt system.
Consider Solar Roofing
Solar panels and solar energy are getting a lot of attention with the rise of energy costs and climate change. Solar energy use in a home can even potentially increase a home’s value due to the savings it can bring. But panels aren’t the right fit for every home or installation. If you like the idea of solar energy, but not the idea of bulky panels on your roof, take a look at the different types of solar roofing available today to see if one of these might suit your needs better.
About the Author
Solar panels are a fantastic addition to any UK home. A 4.5kW solar system suitable to power a 3-bedroom home could save you £786 per year on your energy bills and reduce your carbon emissions by over a ton.
The only setback is that even the best solar panels aren’t necessarily easy on the eye. This can have a range of unwanted consequences – from complicating the planning permission process to annoying your neighbours – but thankfully, it’s a problem that can be solved.
The solution? Integrated solar panels. They are a type of solar panel designed to slot snugly and seamlessly into your roof to avoid clashing with its architectural style.
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Below, our solar experts explain what integrated solar panels are and the many benefits they offer for your home. They also look at how to install these panels, how much they cost and how to decide whether they’re right for your UK home in .
Integrated (also known as in-roof, in-line or roof-integrated) solar panels are embedded in – rather than placed on – your roof.
Unlike traditional roof-mounted (also known as on-roof) solar panels, which are placed on a mounting structure, integrated panels are built into a tileless section of the roof, sitting flush with your roof’s surface to give the panels a flatter, sleeker and more stylish appearance than their conventional counterparts. Other than this, (and apart from the differences in the installation process that we’ll get to next), integrated solar panels are much the same as the traditional roof-mounted or ground-mounted solar systems.
How to install integrated solar panels
Integrated solar panels should always be installed by a professional; ideally, this is someone certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).
The MCS is an accreditation that applies to both solar installers and products. It guarantees high standards of quality, competence, knowledge and professionalism, but you’ll also need an MCS installer to be eligible for the SEG and to access many of the other money-saving solar panel grants available to UK homeowners.
When you hire an MCS-accredited solar panel installer to fit your integrated solar panels, the nature of the process – which is different to traditional solar panel installation – will depend on whether retrofitting is required. This involves removing a section of your roof’s tiles to enable access to its felt and batten layer, where the integrated panels will slot in.
If retrofitting is required, your integrated solar panel installation could take up to two weeks. (Conversely, traditional panels – or in-roof panels that don’t require existing roof-tile removal, such as those on new developments – can be installed within a couple of days.)
When it’s time to mount your in-roof panels, your installer should offer you two options:
- mounting traditional solar panels on an in-roof frame (such as EasyRoof Evolution or the GSE system, which are universal fastening systems for integrated solar panels); and
- utilising a bespoke system in which the panels are made specifically for your home and cut to the exact dimensions your plans lay out. GB-Sol, SolFit and Viridian are a few of the suppliers offering this service in the UK.
Once the area of your roof where the solar panels will go has been cleared, your panel installer will fit plastic trays into it. These trays act as mounting systems (albeit far less obtrusive than traditional mounting systems for solar panels) for your in-roof solar panels, with any gaps around the edges filled with slates or weatherproof framing.
Earlier, we mentioned that you’ll need an MCS-certified solar panel installer to handle the job.
However, we also recommend hiring a roofer. A roofer will be able to:
- look over your home’s roof before you begin and advise you on how appropriate (and how able) your roof is to host integrated solar panels; and
- retrofit your roof to prepare it for the integrated solar panels: a process which can involve cutting into the roof, sealing around the panels to prevent leaks and ensuring the panels are securely attached to your roof’s structure.
That said, some companies will provide the entire service end-to-end, which simplifies the search and prevents you from having to coordinate multiple services and suppliers yourself. To browse suppliers capable of handling the entire integrated solar panel installation process, complete our quick quote-finding questionnaire below.
We’ll ask a few questions about your home’s setup and electricity costs to learn more about your requirements. Then, we’ll use this information to match you with leading solar panel installers in the UK who’ll provide you with tailored solar panel quotes. Our form takes a minute of your time to fill out and is completely free for UK-based homeowners.
Integrated solar panels do have their drawbacks, however. Read on for more information.
Integrated solar panels are more difficult to install
Before you can install integrated solar panels on an existing property, you’ll first need to make room for them by removing a portion of your roof’s existing tiles.
When you’re building a home from scratch – or simply re-roofing one – this isn’t too hard to factor in. In the latter case, you’ll be ripping up your roof anyway.
When you just want to add solar panels to your existing home, however, integrated solar panel installation becomes more complicated and, as a result, more expensive. Installing integrated solar panels into an existing roof typically requires more specialised expertise and labour than with traditional solar panel varieties, so you’ll need to factor these extra costs into your budget.
Integrated solar panels are less efficient
In an energy context, “efficiency” refers to your solar panels’ ability to convert sunlight into useable electricity. It represents your panels’ electricity output as a percentage of the total solar energy input from the sun – so the higher that percentage, the more efficient the panel.
Unfortunately, integrated solar panels are around five to 10 per cent less efficient than traditional on-roof solar panels. Why is this?
Like most of the differences between these panel types, the reason comes back to the placement of the panels. Integrated solar panels sit nestled in the roof, so they’re not as well-ventilated as traditional solar panels, which are propped up on a mounting system. This lack of airflow in and around integrated solar panels can cause them to overheat on especially hot days, inhibiting their ability to generate clean energy for your household.
The net result of this shortfall is less energy to power your home, to store for later, if you also have a solar battery, or to sell via the SEG back to the National Grid for a profit.
What this means is that it’s a good idea to mitigate these extra costs by combining the installation of your integrated solar panels with other work on your roof (such as re-roofing) or by factoring it into your home’s construction from the get-go.
So far, we’ve touched on solar panel costs and the price of installation, but there’s a third factor to consider when weighing the financial merits of integrated solar panels vs regular solar panels: their performance over time.
As we mentioned earlier, integrated solar panels are around 5 to 10 per cent less efficient. While that won’t necessarily translate to the energy production and savings being 5 to 10 per cent lower than with a traditional solar system, it will definitely impact the amount of energy your solar panels generate and, as a result, the amount of savings you could see on your electricity bills and through the SEG every year.
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