Integration of Panels into Tiled Roof

HI Forum

Back again, had to get married and was rather busy :).

Anyway we've got our first installation as a new small company here in southern Spain.

We are trying to improve a poorly designed and installed installation. We will be adding 6 kyocera 120W panels to the array with an additional 60A regulator.

My question is what are the best methods for integrating solar panels in a tiled roof?

As you can see from the picture, the previous installation is done in a pretty ugly fashion, and we intend to integrate the new ones more aesthetically into the roof.

Any guidance much appreciated

Thanks
Larry

Comments

  • ggunn
    ggunn Solar Expert Posts: 1,973 ✭✭✭
    Re: Integration of Panels into Tiled Roof
    lazza wrote: »
    HI Forum

    Back again, had to get married and was rather busy :).

    Anyway we've got our first installation as a new small company here in southern Spain.

    We are trying to improve a poorly designed and installed installation. We will be adding 6 kyocera 120W panels to the array with an additional 60A regulator.

    My question is what are the best methods for integrating solar panels in a tiled roof?

    As you can see from the picture, the previous installation is done in a pretty ugly fashion, and we intend to integrate the new ones more aesthetically into the roof.

    Any guidance much appreciated

    Thanks
    Larry
    I take it that there is never any wind at the site of that installation. Wait, isn't that a little wind turbine in the background? ;^)

    There are companies that produce racking mounts for tile roofs, but it's not cheaply or easily done. I googled "PV racking tile roof" and came up with several hits, but I have no firsthand experience with any of them.

    Good luck.
  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Re: Integration of Panels into Tiled Roof

    Buy spare tiles before starting ! And if the underlayment (tar paper) is +20 years old, maybe it's worth doing that replacement before you put panels on . Tile is just not very easy.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

  • newenergy
    newenergy Solar Expert Posts: 291 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    Re: Integration of Panels into Tiled Roof

    I'm know there are some European companies that make tile mounts. I use QuickmountPV or Prosolar, but they may not be available.

    From the looks of it those are pretty fragile clay tiles and yeah buy extra, but we will also commonly remove the tile in the section under the array, install comp shingle and the put tiles back around the array. But, that doesn't seem worth it for such a small array.
  • SessionMan
    SessionMan Registered Users Posts: 8 ✭✭
    Re: Integration of Panels into Tiled Roof

    With tile roofs like that you definitely need to pay special attention to the flashing. Using either Creotecc tile hooks or quickmount curved tile flashing would be the best bet.
    Here is a good video of an installation for a slightly different style of tile.

    http://www.sessionsolar.com/videos/creomount-animated-install.html
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Integration of Panels into Tiled Roof

    SessionMan,

    That was a very nice video on tile roof installations.

    Thank you,
    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • SessionMan
    SessionMan Registered Users Posts: 8 ✭✭
    Re: Integration of Panels into Tiled Roof

    You are quite welcome, I actually work for the company who made the video, though I'm posting out of personal desire to see solar succeed. I do design support for large systems as well as designing our new line of product.