I was pleasantly surprised to see a Tesla e-mail soliciting a solar roof. You fill out the form and a certified installer will call. Their recommendation: My bill - $155 in August for electricity 8.1 kW Solar Panels 2 Powerwalls Eagle Solar & Light I selected solar panels because the house has a new roof, less than two years old. I see the air gap between the panels and roof as being a way to keep solar heat from the attic. There are two large pine trees to the Southwest but I will take them down for solar. Bob Wilson
How much annual energy production are they estimating? I do believe that shade of the panels is a significant contributor to my reduced attic temperature. On the adjustable rail brackets, I did set them up high for increased gap and airflow underneath. (Though beware of potential loading from wind uplift.) Also didn't butt adjacent panel rows together, but left some gap for additional ventilation, though don't know whether or not the industry really approves of this style. New roofing and improved attic ventilation were added at the same time as solar installation, so I can't really separate the components of each contributor to the cooler attic. Improved attic insulation a couple years later also helped. All combined, the amount of heat radiating down from the ceiling during our hottest summer weather is sharply reduced, even when our all-time high temperature record was smashed by about 7 degrees. I have shade from numerous trees in various directions, but didn't cut any of them, just added more panels to compensate for the impairments. Well, I couldn't cut any of them, because they are not on my property. All belong to neighbors, so short of expensive bribery, my only choice was to coexist with them. Tree preservation is a very hot topic around here.
If you were getting a complete roof tear off I would recommend this product. We used this sheathing when we built our home 10 years ago -it is very effective. Would caution it affects TV and to a lesser degree radio reception making an outdoor type antenna necessary. TECHSHIELD Radiant Barrier 7/16 Application as 4' x 8' Roof Sheathing Panel 39960 - The Home Depot LP TechShield Radiant Heat Barrier | LP Building Solutions (lpcorp.com)
i will be asking roofers about this. with a cape, the roof is basically uninsulated, but thereis some 75 year old nonsense silver paper which i believe will inhibit the distribution of blown in insulation. i'm hoping to find a roofing contractor who will remove the existing boards, insulate the rafters and apply modern sheathing before roofing and solar installation
