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How Much Roof Area Do I Require to Install a Rooftop Solar PV

System?

Within this section you will nd

Factors aecting roof area required by rooftop solar PV plants

Shade-free roof area
Panel eciency
Shade-free area required at dierent plant capacities and
panel eciencies
Other considerations
Weight of the rooftop PV plant
Mountings that can withstand wind pressure

What factors affect roof area required?

The extent of rooftop area required for solar PV power plants has been
the subject of interest worldwide.
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In the case of large, ground-mounted power plants, these are usually

located in lands far from cities and hence are available economically.
Hence, the area required per MW is if interest, but not of great concern.

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For rooftop solar power plants however, area is a signicant constraints

in most cases, for both residential and commercial rooftop solar power
plants.
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The extent of roof area required by a solar PV plant is dependent on

two factors

Shade-free roof area

Panel eciency

Shade-free roof area

 Shade-free roof area
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Unused rooftop area will have to be assessed for incidence of shadows

through the year to determine the extent of shade-free area available
for installing a rooftop solar PV plant.
We emphasise shade-free roof area because shadows aect the PV
50plants performance in two ways
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Output When a shadow falls on a PV panel it reduces the

19 output from the plant
Panel damage When a shadow falls on part of a panel, that
18 portion of the panel turns from a conductor into a resistance and
starts heating up. That portion of the panel will eventually burn
4 out and the entire panel will have to be replaced. This will not be
covered by warranty

It is therefore critical to ensure that no shadow falls on the PV plant

throughout the year. Shadows that fall on the plant can be from

Neighbouring structures Buildings, hoardings, mobile phone

towers, and even trees can cast a shadow on a rooftop PV plant.
In many cities worldwide where both residential and commercial
buildings have a number of adjoining buildings and other
structures, shading analysis will be an important aspect to
consider before estimating the actual area available for rooftop
solar.
The PV plant itself One row of panels can cast a shadow on
the row behind them; the further we move away from the
equator, the longer the shadow that is cast and the greater the
amount of room required between rows of panels

Panel efficiency

Panel eciency inuences rooftop space requirement because

eciency is calculated with respect to the area occupied by the panel. A
simple way to understand the relationship between panel eciency
and rooftop space required is to remember that a rooftop plant that
uses panels with a lower eciency rating will require greater
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rooftop space than a plant that uses panels with higher eciency
rating.

Want to gure out how eciency of panels aect area required by

solar plants in an interesting way? Click Here
 What we have seen so far is that, in some countries such as the United
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States, there are a number of rooftop solar installations that are using
high eciency solar panels (for instance from companies such as
SunPower), in order to derive the most from the limited rooftop area.
However, as of 2015, the high eciency panels (21-22% eciency) cost
a lot more per kWh delivered than the medium eciency panels (16-
5018%). As a result, very high eciency panels are used for rooftop only
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in select countries; in countries such as India, rooftops still use the
medium eciency panels and not the high eciency ones.
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Shade-free area required at different plant capacities

18
and panel efficiencies

4
If a 1 kW plant with 15% eciency panels requires 100 SF of rooftop
space, then a 1 kW plant with 12% eciency panels will require 125 SF
of rooftop space. We can extend this to dierent combinations of
rooftop plant capacity and panel eciency for our understanding.

Plant capacity 1 kW 2 kW 5 kW 10 kW
Panel
Rooftop space required (SF)
eciency
12.0% 125 250 625 1,250
12.5% 120 240 600 1,200
13.0% 115 231 577 1,154
13.5% 111 222 556 1,111
14.0% 107 214 536 1,071
14.5% 103 207 517 1,034
15.0% 100 200 500 1,000
15.5% 97 194 484 968
16.0% 94 188 469 938
Note:These numbers are indicative only. Actual roof area required at
your installation could vary based on site-specic conditions and
vendors recommendations.

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Based on the above, we can see that a rooftop solar PV

system typically requires 100 SF (about 10 m2) ofshade-
freeroof area per kW of capacity.
Must Watch : Basics of Rooftop Solar explained simply

Other considerations
 Other considerations
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Weight of the rooftop PV plant

Rooftop solar PV plants are fairly heavy (about 30-60 Kgs/m2). They do
not pose a problem for concrete roofs but cannot be installed on
50asbestos roofed sheds. Metal roofed facilities may or may not be able
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to withstand the weight and wind load and will need to be assessed by
an expert.
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Mountings that can withstand wind pressure

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Rooftop solar panel mountings would need to withstand wind pressure

4
building up under the panels during storms. This is an important
consideration if you are located in a region prone to cyclones. Recent
hurricanes in the United States and cyclones in many other parts
worldwide have sensitised installers and rooftop solar owners to be
more careful about the mounting structure materials and designs.The
kind of mounting required for your location and type of roof should be
discussed with the installer.

Takeaways

Rooftop Solar PV plants require about 100 sq.ft (10 sqm) of

shade-free roof area per kW of plant capacity
Shadows falling on the panels not only reduce power output
but also damage the panel

Rooftop plants weigh 30-60 Kgs/m2(66-130 lb/m2) which is too

heavy for asbestos roofed sheds. Installation on metal roofed
sheds should be decided on a case-to-case basis
The mounting structure should be designed to handle cyclones
where wind speeds can reach 200 kph (125 mph)

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ROOFTOP SOLAR PV FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is rooftop solar power cheaper than diesel/grid power?

How much does a rooftop solar PV system cost?
 Can rooftop solar PV replace diesel entirely?
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How much roof area do I require to install a rooftop solar PV system
How much electricity does a rooftop solar PV system generate?
What are the various components of a rooftop solar system?
What are the Warranties and Certications I should look for in my rooftop PV system?
What is the capacity of the solar power system I require for my facility?
Does rooftop solar PV generate power during a power failure?
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Do I have to build my own plant or can I just buy solar power?
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What are the various policies and regulations (subsidies, incentives, permissions) that I should
consider for my rooftop solar systems?
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