{"id":78017,"date":"2023-09-21T12:17:18","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T02:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=78017"},"modified":"2024-04-15T16:37:38","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T07:07:38","slug":"getting-solar-right-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/getting-solar-right-building\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Builders Get Solar Wrong And How You Can Get It Right"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Getting

Stink pipes, clear sheets, aerials, low pitch, small planes, a new roof, redeploy old solar panels …and add more capacity. This one had all<\/em> the complexities.<\/p><\/div>\n

In this series, I’m pitching a case for better buildings that can make housing more comfortable and<\/em> more affordable<\/strong> to live in.<\/p>\n

A month ago, I explained how Australian houses are badly built<\/a>, often with outrageously complicated roof lines. Read on as I explore how to get solar panels on your roof efficiently, how to avoid some pitfalls and why it’s so important to enhance your house to use cheap solar energy better.<\/p>\n

You Can Fix A Bog Stock House<\/h2>\n

Perhaps you’re up against a typical project home builder who is hesitant to innovate? Modifying schematics is easy, but changing minds might need more ambition.<\/p>\n

Forget about trendy finishes and focus on fundamentals you can do during the build that are impossible to fix later.<\/p>\n

I recently reviewed a house plan where the master bedroom’s robe made the roof needlessly complex.<\/p>\n

\"house

All that complication for zero benefit.<\/p><\/div>\n

Passive Solar Design Is Not Difficult<\/h3>\n

Passive solar design makes sure the sun’s rays can reach inside and warm your house in winter, while ensuring they stay outside in summer.<\/p>\n

Make your eaves the right size and position the windows correctly. And always remember: builders will always sell you too much<\/em> glass<\/em> because it’s cheaper than bricks.<\/p>\n

\"passive

On the left: spring sunshine retreating from the slab. By summer the slab will be shaded by the eaves. On the right, the winter sun’s heat is stored by the slab’s thermal mass. Concrete is a cheap solar battery.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"terrible

Some stock designs are passable, but the complex architectural marvel (bottom left) is a disaster.<\/p><\/div>\n

Delete Decorative Dormers<\/h2>\n

Don’t be tempted to accessorise with Dutch gables and whirly birds.<\/p>\n

Insist the builders put your TV aerial on the south edge of the house and that air conditioning units aren’t on the roof either. More importantly, specify that plumbing and vented exhaust fans go out the walls or eaves.<\/p>\n

\"Steep

I can almost understand dormers when you’re building a new garage at the heritage-listed Dulwich House, but with hand-hewn stone & solid cedar doors, I suspect the power bill isn’t the most expensive thing here.<\/p><\/div>\n

Leave The Roof Clear<\/h2>\n

While Velux skylights and roof windows are stylish, they compromise energy efficiency. They’re hard to insulate, acting as thermal chimneys that can let valuable heat out in winter and let unwanted heat in during summer.<\/p>\n

Installing a flat panel LED “electric skylight” saves heat in winter and saves being baked in summer, freeing up the roof for more solar power.<\/p>\n

\"Skylights

A horrible roof made worse by skylights<\/p><\/div>\n

Add Extra Purlins<\/h2>\n

A purlin is a horizontal beam in a roof. They run across the building, supported by sloped rafters or trusses. The rows of screws you see keeping the iron sheets in place are driven into the purlins, hence we have the term “screw lines” showing where these purlins are.<\/p>\n

I’ve fixed kilometres of steel purlin. They’re cheaper than aluminium solar rails, and adding one row here or there costs only a few minutes. A correctly spaced roof frame saves wasting a lot of solar racking.<\/p>\n

\"a

Three purlins won’t support four rails, so this job was laid out with vertical framing\/landscape solar panels and used twice as many feet. The purple lines would be ideal purlin spacing for portrait panels and a footway at the bottom. Image credit: Solar Depot<\/p><\/div>\n

\"North

This north Queensland roof has lots purlins and thus screw lines to play with, making solar installation easier despite the complex shape<\/p><\/div>\n