What to do if your roof is not suitable for solar panels?

Do you want to become more sustainable with solar panels, but is your roof not suitable for this? This can be the case, for example, with listed buildings, outdated roofs or roofs with too little sun. And even if you live in a flat or rented house, panels are often not an option. Fortunately, there are alternatives you can consider if you would still like to use solar panels.

We share below options for people who rent a house or flat and for people who want to own their own solar panels but where the roof of their house is not suitable.

Alternatives to rooftop solar panels

If you do not have a roof or are not allowed to install solar panels, for example because you rent a property, there are a number of alternatives. One popular option is the post-coder box scheme. This involves joining an energy cooperative in your neighbourhood and investing in sustainable energy projects together with others. This gives you a 15-year discount on energy tax. A disadvantage, however, is that you can no longer benefit from the tax advantage after moving to another postcode area.

Another option is to invest in solar panels on other people's roofs through your energy supplier. You then benefit from the yield via your energy bill without being tied to a specific postcode. Furthermore, you can invest in solar panels on other roofs via crowdfunding platforms such as Solar Panels. This works similar to investing in bonds and provides annual returns. Important: the solar panels do not become yours in these cases. There are also other risks in investing, so delve into this well before you start.

Owning your own home, but no suitable roof

Would you like to own your solar panels and do you have your own home? Then it is also possible to place them on other roofs, such as an outbuilding, barn or garage. These buildings often have enough space to support enough solar panels. This does need to consider the quality of the roof and any obstacles such as shade. If you solar panels have them installed by Shift to Solar, we check the suitability of the roof and how many solar panels are needed to generate enough power.

Do you have space to spare in your front or back garden? Then you could also have a solar carport can place. This is a carport designed to park cars under and generate solar energy at the same time. For most passenger cars, we recommend a carport at least 5.2 metres long and 3.5 metres wide. Other types of canopies are also possible. A veranda with solar panels can shade your garden and generate energy at the same time. Ask about the possibilities!

So by being creative with the space you have, you can still have solar panels installed and lower your energy bills.

Key considerations

When determining a suitable alternative to rooftop solar panels, we consider a number of points:

• Space: Make sure there is enough space to install solar panels. An outbuilding, carport or veranda should be large enough. For an average household, you can assume 10 solar panels.
• Roof state and orientation: The condition of the roof should be good and not contain asbestos. The orientation of the surface in relation to the sun determines the yield: solar panels facing south yield the most.
• Shadow: Avoid places that receive a lot of shade, such as under large trees or next to tall buildings.

So there could be several reasons why your roof is not suitable for solar panels. But this does not mean that you cannot use solar energy at all. By looking at alternatives, such as installing a solar carport or solar panels on the roof of an outbuilding, you can still enjoy the benefits of green energy. These are several options we can explore with you, to see what would best suit the home. Feel free to take contact up!