solar install causing damage to roof tiles

selsdon101

I'm close to pulling the trigger on solar panels, but am concerned about whether this will cause damage to the roof.

I have concrete tiles on a shallow (22 degree) roof which have been up for 40 years now, and looking online this is a good life span, and i should expect to replace it in the next 10-20 years. So my concern is installing solar panels will disturb them, increasing the likelihood that the the roof needs to be replaced sooner. Maybe even straight after. And of course it will be more expensive to get the panels removed and refitted.

Has anyone had problems? Presumably many people have had panels installed on much older roofs without any issues (yet)? This is more of an issue with concrete tiles which apparently last half as long as other types.

Dave_Fowler

selsdon101 wrote: »

I'm close to pulling the trigger on solar panels, but am concerned about whether this will cause damage to the roof.

I have concrete tiles on a shallow (22 degree) roof which have been up for 40 years now, and looking online this is a good life span, and i should expect to replace it in the next 10-20 years. So my concern is installing solar panels will disturb them, increasing the likelihood that the the roof needs to be replaced sooner. Maybe even straight after. And of course it will be more expensive to get the panels removed and refitted.

Has anyone had problems? Presumably many people have had panels installed on much older roofs without any issues (yet)? This is more of an issue with concrete tiles which apparently last half as long as other types.

Each time when the panels were installed on my two rooves one or two tiles were damaged during the installations. Fortunately I have a good stock of spare tiles and the installers were able to replace them. Since installation there has been no problem with further damage - in fact the panels are to a great extent protecting the old tiles (c 1947)

Dav F

Ectophile

Installing solar panels will inevitably mean disturbing the tiles. A few have to be lifted up to install the brackets. But if your roof is so dodgy that the tiles are about to fall off, then it may not be able to cope with a bunch of solar panels anyway.

My roof was dodgy, but I had it fixed before having the panels put on. I haven't had any problems since.

EricMears

My installers managed to crack a couple of tiles - but just went off and bought half a dozen spare secondhand ones (my tiles became 'obsolete' a year or two after they were installed !) so left me with a few extra spares. Replacements weren't an exact colour match - but they made sure they put them under the panels where they wouldn't show.

selsdon101

hmm ok so there is some chance of the installer causing damage, and i guess if its not discovered till months later when there's a storm it'll be expensive to fix.

WestonDave

On the other side of the coin there was no sign of damage to any of ours during install - it was however the case that our installers employed a specialist roofer who did all the roof fixings and a specialist electrician who did all the wiring up. Obviously I've not looked in detail but I think 3 years after install if there had been any damaged tiles we'd have seen water ingress etc by now given that the felt under the tiles is rather holey.

pinnks

My roof is a mere 30 years old but no damage at all.

They removed certain tiles and angle-ground them to allow the fixings to be placed - none were damaged. Also I took advantage of having the scaffolding and was up there at the time doing odds and ends so could see the workmanship up close.

Also 2 years in I have been up there again on a scaffold tower to replace my no longer black gutters around the whole house and to repair a valley or two (not related in any way to the PV install) and all is as good now as it ever was in terms of roof tiles.

Sometimes one can over-analyse the risks...