• Have you tried out dark mode?! Scroll to the bottom of any page to find a sun or moon icon to turn dark mode on or off!

diy solar

diy solar

panel mounting on rounded "S" type tiles

jpadie

New Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2024
Messages
7
Location
SW France
Hello all
I'm in the planning phase for installing solar panels on my roof in SW France.
Roof is S type terracotta tiles. The build was only 20 years ago and the roof is in very good condition.

I'm using opensolar to help with the planning and at the moment just going with some "default" choices of panels and micro-inverteres that are available from UK . suppliers. the build cost comes to 4k without the racking and cables, so to finish off the proposal I have to educate myself about racking! On investigating racking I'm finding myself swamped with data. Some early questions I have are

a/ are all racking solutions (for a given roof type) "broadly" the same? i.e. long metal extrusions for rigidity and T-type clamps to secure the panels?
b/ do all micro-inverters mount to panels in the same way? are they all compatible with the same type of racking solutions?
c/ do all racking bars accept the goose-neck type things that attach to the roof joists?

it might be easier to point me at a good/trusted resource for "how to choose racking for solar panels" if anyone can spare the time!

many thanks in advance.
 
For your roof type you can use J hooks or one that has a fake plastic tile ... with either, you remove one tile, attach the hook and replace the tile. On top of those you attach the horizontal mount bars that you bolt the panels to. It all just bolts together.

Micro-inverters have a place in the eco-system, they are good where you have shading or a varying roof geometry where you can't get a straight line. If one fails you have to identify the bad unit and unrack any panels in the way to get to it. They just bolt to the racking like the panels..

Several vendors are ironridge and unirack.... there are many others.

Price your system with micr-inverters and string inverters, usually the string inverters come out cheaper and easier to deal with in case of failure. The racking is the same except for some extra bolts.

Check your local codes, here in the US we require RSD (rapid shutdown devices) for roof mount panels, but that can be simple boxes that clip to the panels or optimizers or microinverters.
 
Thank you @robbob2112.

I am a bear of little brain so was struggling to see how a tile can be replaced when it has to accommodate a mount traversing it. Ditto any cabling. I realise now that they must articulate over the top lip of the tile. Simple when you know how!

A little bell of worry is ringing in my mind. If a micro inverter goes or a panel goes I'm thinking I will always know which from the management information. I was also assuming that I could just unbundle that particular panel without touching anything else. I.e. that each panel was independently accessible on a rack mount. Was that naive?
 
There are horizontal rails mounted to the J hooks and then the panels bolt side by side. Many times there are 2 or 3 rows tall. Where things become a problem is if one in the middle of the field fails. In that case you have to start at an edge and remove all the ones in between to replace the bad micro-inverter.
 
Aha.

So if I leave a walkway between horizontal strings then direct access is maintained?
 
For my recent install on concrete S-tiles, there are 2 rows of solar panels (in Portrait/Vertical orientation, ie tall, not wide/horizontal/landscape) and those two rows are flush against each other (no walking space in-between). Installer used Invisimount S-Tile replacement attachment with PegasusSolar.com (SKU PSTR-FSB0?) (which replace an entire tile, so now I have spare tiles in case of any breakage)

My local Fire/Building code calls for at least 18 inches of walk/access space from top of top-most panel to top roof centerline, and 36" along one side. Panel access is from above for top row of panels, and below for bottom row (so have micro-inverter along bottom edge for bottom row for easier access)

As for 20year old roof ... locally, a typically a dual felt layer under the tiles lasts about 40 years (before needing a "lift and lay" [felt replacement])... and solar should last 25+ years, so you are risking needing to work on roof before panels... Fortunately my house was older and needed Lift and Lay already, then I did solar a couple of years later...
What I wish I had done, while doing aforementioned roof work, was to consolidate roof plumbing vents (as a few of them obstructed optimal solar panel placement)
 

diy solar

diy solar
Back
Top