Choosing Suitable Roofs

Tues 25th Feb 18.30.
Garden Room, The Globe, 39 Clifton Rd, Exeter, EX1 2BL

Come and find out about the criteria involved in a roof being suitable. The ideal roof for our first solar project needs to be financially viable AND deliver community benefit. Financial viability is dependant on

• Good generation potential – best performance from southerly orientation although facing east and west can be viable. As little shading as possible and no threat of future construction that blocks sunlight.
• Low installation costs – Pitched at 30 degrees on low rise buildings will be cheaper than flat roofs and high rise requiring scaffolding. Metal sheet roofs lower costs whereas slate roofs increase costs.
• High energy use by the occupier – this reduces the cost of the grid connection and means our income is higher.
• And legal ease – the roof owner willing to sign the roof lease for 20 or 25 years. Sometimes larger organisations baulk at this.

We have a preference for the panels to be sited on a community building, but the numbers need to stack up. It might come down to a choice between a low cost installation on a commercial building, generating a substantial community fund over the lifetime of the project, and a high cost installation on a community building that creates a small energy discount to one organisation and a much smaller community fund. Come and tell us your thoughts on this dynamic and take part in finding suitable roofs for our first solar project.