As you may have guessed, rooftop solar systems are mounted or attached to the roof of a home or business.
Rooftop solar is most thought of when referring to solar programs. It is most often utilized as a residential system. In addition to residential homes, rooftop solar systems are used widely on commercial, industrial buildings, and even parking garages.
Rooftop systems are smaller in scale and typically have less capacity for solar production than other types of solar systems.
Energy Produced & Cost
The amount of energy produced depends on the location and amount of direct sunlight. A Typical home rooftop system produces 1 to 10 kilowatts (kW). A minimum of 75 square feet of solar panels is needed to generate each kilowatt of direct current (DC) power during peak solar periods.
While prices can vary, a residential solar system typically averages $3.50 per watt peak capacity of direct current Wp-DC. Watt peak capacity is the maximum of a module under optimal conditions.
Ownership
Ownership of rooftop systems can vary:
- The solar system can be owned by the homeowner (or the building’s owner in commercial instances)
- A leased solar system is often owned by the organization that installs the solar panels
Did You Know?
- The power that is generated by the rooftop solar system offsets the energy use of the home or building on which it is installed
- Occasionally, the solar panels and the system may even generate more energy than is used within the home or building; this excess power can be stored in batteries for later use or sent back into our power grid
- Depending on the size and layout of the building, the number of panels can be increased over time