Solar energy is a clean and environment-friendly source of energy that has been gaining favor over other fossil fuel sources of energy making solar panels highly demanded not only in Australia but all over the globe.
Slate is a rock that is tough, water-resistant, fire-resistant and has high visual appeal making it a popular choice in home design projects for roofing. While slate is a common roofing material due to its aesthetic and durable characteristics, people usually worry about the success of installing solar on a slate roof as slate, unlike tin roofs, is prone to cracking and breaking during installation.
While it could be true that some tiles may break and need to be replaced during the process, no harm is caused to the slate roof when installation is done by professional experts with caution. This is because, unlike other roof types, no drilling is done directly on the slate tiles.
The brackets are fixed inside the under-roof, lead sheets, and artificial slates. It is a completely secure procedure that takes a longer time than installing on other types of roofs. It may be important to note that solar panel installation on a slate roof may take more equipment, labor, and overall cost of installation owing to the intricate work involved. There are experts who specialize in solar installation on slate roofs. You could google -Solar panel slate roof installer near me.
If you looked around, you would find that in Sydney, solar panel installation on a slate roof is a common sight. More people use solar pool heaters these days and have their panels up on their slate rooftops.
We will share here the steps involved in solar panel installation on a slate roof, which should give you confidence that it is absolutely safe for your property’s roof.
Steps involved in solar panel installation on a slate roof
- With regular roofs like asphalt or tin, the brackets are drilled directly onto the roof. But when installing on a slate roof, the tiles where the brackets are to be fitted are first carefully removed (in order to access the under roof).
- Now, after the relevant tiles are removed, lead flashings that are cut to the size of the slate tiles are fitted in their place. The brackets are now fitted on the roof rafter and the lead sheets. Lead flashings are used to keep the roof safe from leakage.
- Artificial slates are cut to fit around the brackets.
- Another sheet of lead flashing is cut and fit over the artificial slate, around the bracket.
- The slates are now finally placed as before. All you can now see is the brackets above the slate tiles.
- The rails (to hold the solar panels) are now fixed to the brackets.
- Finally, the solar panels are placed on the rails and secured.
Your solar is now ready to generate energy!!
Conclusion
After learning about the steps undertaken for solar panel installation on a slate roof, we can conclude that it is as safe and fruitful as installing on any other roof type, should the correct procedures be followed during the installation. Working with slate only requires some extra caution and expertise from the installers, due to its fragility.
As discussed earlier, it is an intricate procedure that requires more time, labor, equipment and thus cost, so you want to make sure you get experienced professionals to do the job
You could google for an expert by typing -Slate roof installer near me or just get in touch with us at SunMate Solar for expert and easy installation solutions for all roof types and the best in industry solar systems for homes and businesses! Get a free quote today!
