Can You Put Solar Panels On A Garage Roof?

Can You Put Solar Panels On A Garage Roof?

Yes, you can put solar panels on a garage roof! There are a number of important factors that play into putting solar panels on your garage roof but the short answer is that you can install solar panels on a garage roof. As long as the garage roof is not shaded by trees and is structurally sound, your garage roof can be an excellent place to install solar. 

Is A Detached Garage Right For Solar Panels?

Detached garages, specifically, are great roofs to install solar panels on. Why? Because typically a detached garage is away from the home and doesn’t experience any shade from the other parts of the house as the sun moves in the sky throughout the day. This means that as long as there are no trees shading your detached garage roof you will get the maximum amount of performance out of solar panels installed there! This means not only can a detached garage be a place to install solar panels but depending on its location it may be a prime spot for solar panels for your home!

What Makes Garage Solar A Good Decision? 

Like we said earlier, there are a number of reasons why garage solar is a good idea. Sometimes you cannot install solar panels on your house roof because of the position of the roof or the pitch or steep angle of your roof. In this case, if you have a detached garage, you can install solar panels on it instead and still generate power out of thin air for you and your family. Here are some more strong reasons to consider solar panels for your garage.

Adding Solar Panels To Your Garage Will Offset Your Electricity Bills 

One way to start saving money is to add solar panels. Maybe you don’t want to install a huge solar panel system or maybe the roof of your home is not in the right position for solar but you have a garage roof that is? Adding solar to your garage could help you reduce your monthly electricity bills by 50% or more depending on the orientation of your garage roof and the square footage you have available on your garage. 

Solar For Your Garage Minimizes The Solar Panels Appearance

One of the hesitancies people sometimes feel is how solar panels will look on their roof. This can be a legitimate concern, especially if you live in a Home Owners Association with strict policies. Choosing to install solar panels on your garage instead of your house roof will most likely make them much less visible, especially if you have a detached garage. 

Detached Garage Solar Panels Are Unobstructed By Shade 

If you have a detached garage then it is probably not obstructed by shade from your home. The problem with utilizing attached garages is that sometimes based on the the home’s position relative to the sun’s path in the sky, the attached garage roof is shaded by the other part of the home and because of that is not a good place for solar panels. With a detached garage, this usually is not an issue which makes it unobstructed and a better place for solar panels in the right conditions.

Solar Panels On Your Garage Roof Increase The Overall Size Of Your Solar Installation 

Can you put solar panels on your garage roof if you have solar panels on the main roof of your home? Yes, absolutely! Adding solar panels to your garage roof can be a great way to increase the overall size of your solar panel system

Now, this is one scenario where having a detached garage will make things a little more complicated. If your garage is attached to your home then it is easier to connect your garage’s solar array to the main home’s array and then all of your solar panels will run through one solar inverter. If your additional solar panels are getting installed on a detached garage roof then connecting your system will require some more work but it is still possible. 

How Much Will Solar For Your Garage Cost?

Are you curious about how much it will cost for a home solar installer? Cost is an important consideration when deciding whether or not to install solar panels on your garage roof. Belmont Solar has a completely free solar panel cost calculator that you can use to see how much solar panels would cost with or without battery backup based on the average monthly cost of your electricity bills. 

If you are only considering installing solar panels on your garage roof then you may want to try entering half of what your monthly electricity bill is because your garage may not have enough roof space for enough solar panels to completely eliminate your electricity bill. The other thing you can do is enter your total monthly electricity bill and see how much roof square footage it would require to completely eliminate your bill. Then calculate how much garage roof square footage you have and subtract the two. 

If your garage has enough square footage of roof space to make up half of what you would need to completely eliminate your monthly energy costs then you know garage solar panels would eliminate half of your bills. And if your garage roof space is 75% of the total square footage needed to cancel out your monthly electricity bills then you know you could enjoy a 75% offset of your bills with a garage solar system. 

Will Garage Solar Panels Make You Money? 

Solar panels for your garage in PA could make you money. How is this possible? Pennsylvania is one of the States in America where owners of solar panel systems that are tied to the power grid get credited for the solar power their systems generate. These are called Solar Renewable Energy Credits. SRECs in PA can be a little complicated to understand so you can check out our PA SREC blog for all the details but the short answer is that you will be able to actually make money on the power your grid-tied garage solar panels generate. 

Will Solar Panels Work For Your Garage Roof?

We have discussed at length the general principles and factors regarding installing solar panels on garage roofs. It can be a really great thing for people with the right garages. Let’s think about your garage now, can you install solar panels on your garage roof? Consider these 3 important factors:

  1. First we have to think about the position of your roof relative to the sun’s East to West tracking. Is your garage roof in a position that it receives adequate sun throughout the day? Assuming that the answer is yes then your garage roof might be ideal for solar panels.
  2. Now let’s think about the shading your garage roof experiences. Is your garage attached or detached? If it is attached to your home does it get shaded by the larger part of your home because of the orientation of your home relative to the sun’s path? If your garage is attached to your house but it gets plenty of sunlight each day then solar for your garage would work well. 
  3. If your garage is a detached garage the same considerations apply. If your detached garage roof gets lots of sunlight throughout the day, isn’t shaded by tall trees or other buildings, and is structurally sound then you can install solar panels on your garage.

If you have a garage (detached or attached to your home), if you live within our service areas, and you are really interested in solar for your garage then don’t hesitate to contact us today and begin a conversation about garage solar panels for your property, we’re ready to help!

717-768-7796