As more and more countries are beginning to appreciate the wonders of renewable energy, different companies and households are now switching from coal energy to solar energy. Using such energy as a source of electricity is a good thing not just for the consumer, but also for the environment. Households that go green enjoy cheaper electricity, and at the same time, avoid the use of non-renewable energy like coal and petroleum as their primary source of fuel and power.
Many houses and buildings have adopted the use of solar energy at the expense of buying and installing solar panels on top of their roofs since the solar waves have almost no obstructions out there. However, you may want to hold your plans of buying solar panels and consider first the best roofing material suitable for your existing house or building.
Tiles
Tiles are made of different strong materials that can last for a very long time, which made them the most common roofing material in Australia. As common as they seem, installing solar panels to them may take some thorough work. The solar panel installation with tiles includes the temporary removal of tiles, drilling of steel mounting brackets to the rafters, cutting some tiles, and reattachment of tiles.
Metal
When it comes to solar panel installation, metal roofing is considered the best type of roofing material. This is because the installation requires minimal work and zero drillings into the roof structure. Unlike tiles, metal roofing has roof screws that can be reused for the attachment of solar panels. This type of roofing material can certainly speed up the installation process of solar panels and cut down cost.
Composite
Another roofing material that can save a lot of time and workload in installing solar panels is composite. By just sliding the footings under the composite shingles, they can easily be secured to the rafters to which the solar panels can be attached afterward. They can withstand the weight of solar panels since they are durable and flexible, all at a cheap cost.
Tar and Gravel Roof
Homes with flat roofs often resort to using tar and gravel roofing material. This kind of roofing entails the use of hot tar, roofing felt, and some mineral coatings on its sheet layers. Incorporating solar panels to this kind of roofing requires additional brackets that can be tilted at a certain degree to catch sun waves. Although the installation procedure is easy, the cost of the tilted brackets and braces may be expensive. Still got questions about the best roofing material for your solar panels? Johnson Roofing can help you with that. We have done new roofing services to a lot of households in Australia and continuously serve more and more clients. Take note, installing solar panels does not translate to new roofs. Sometimes, you just have to re-roof to save you a lot of time and money. Luckily, we also offer re-roofing and roof maintenance.