We are working with a PV company to install a 9.7 KW PV system on our home.Anybody else considering solar? Anybody with solar have any suggestions for anything they wish they would have done differently with the install?
Damn that's a big system. Have you looked into installing solar water heating, EnergyStar appliances, and other ways to reduce your energy use? They're usually cheaper than buying extra kilowatts and they have a fast payback.
In addition to doing your own calculations on a website, you might also want to visit someone in your neighborhood who has a system. Some PV companies do solar open houses, or you could just leave a note in the homeowner's mailbox. Chances are pretty high that you'll get a proud PV owner who'll be happy to show off their system and help you decide what you want for yours.
Most of your payback depends on this FPL rebate. It'd be a good idea to have your own "Plan B" for when the contractor calls back to tell you that you're not getting as much rebate as you expected.
They are rated to withstand 150 mph winds. My roof is not. They use a three rail system to provide extra strength required to achieve the wind rating. I'll have to ask my insurance company but likely may affect my regular home owners, not storm coverage.
You may want to get a second opinion on that third rail from someone who's not selling hardware to you. I think all of the installations around here are two rails.
Unless you're mounting your panels on a pergola, that 150mph wind is not going to be blowing straight up against the entire panel from underneath. Even then...
I am curious to know if solar panels mounted on a roof will increase the expense of roof replacement. Or the incidents of roof leaks. Any statistics on that?
There's a certain amount of labor to remove & reinstall an array, so it depends on who does the labor-- you on your own, or the PV installer, or paying the roofer. We've installed/removed/reinstalled our array on our own, and it's not rocket science. If you drill a hole in the wrong place then you patch it and try again in the right place. You may not be as experienced as a roofer, but you'll be a lot more cautious & careful.
The array mount starts with bolts & flashings sticking out of the roof beams. Once the array and the rails are removed, the roofers can work around the bolts and reinstall the flashings. Or you can remove all the hardware and start over when the roofers leave.
PV mounts & flashings have made a lot of progress in the last decade. Once they're installed they're no more likely to leak than anything else sticking up through the roof (like a sewage vent). Even if you stuck a mount through the ceiling (for a conversation starter?) the flashing would divert rainwater away from it.
If your array is installed by a roofer then it's warrantied against leaks. We've had far more leaks from other parts of the roofer's work than from anything we did on our own PV array.
I wonder if a PV array offers enough shade/cover to make a roof last longer, but I haven't seen any stats on that. All our roof damage has come from the wind chewing on ridges & peaks, not from the PV array.