Do you have solar panels on a flat roof?

[late2theparty]

The front of our house faces north, and we've had a loft conversion, so the south-facing previously sloped roof at the rear is now a flat-roofed dormer. We also have a large rear kitchen extension with a south-facing flat roof. From what I've read online, its possible to put solar panels on a flat roof but they need to be installed at an angle, and so they're more expensive. Has anyone done this? I'd be interested to hear about your experience.

We also have a combi boiler, so no water tank. Would it be necessary to install a tank? (There is a large eaves cupboard on the north side of the house, that could have space for it but, if the panels were on the kitchen roof, the wiring would have to be quite long to get there).

I'm wondering if you can put them on top of a shed

Call a few companies to get a professional opinion on whether you are suitable / give you advice. It is usually free but a word of caution on this. My parents have an unusual house and found not all would touch them but did find one eventually and just said no for no apparent reason despite them being south-facing. They live in a bungalow so the pitch of the roof is slightly unusual so had implications for the installation. (I also note they came across a few companies who look like scammers so read reviews!)

It can be more complicated if you are going for a none standard installation. You may need to think about planning permissions. I know people trying to get them at the moment who are having issues with this. So I don't think a straight yes / no answer is necessarily going to be appropriate here.

In terms of sheds. I'm guessing that the issue is with supply and connection to the grid on a none permanent structure away from the main property and this raising potential safety issues. Is the shed wood? I suspect its going to be a no. However a friend does theirs on their brick built garage rather than their house, it doesn't necessarily need to be your house.

We've also had solar panels recently. Talking to everyone I know who had had them put on, there is such a wide range of advice / experience / options out there. There should be an option out there available to you but it may be more expensive and it might not be as effective as other installations. And there is a minefield of duff information out there.

It's clear to me that some companies simply won't take on a difficult installation because demand is so high at the moment they can simply pick the easy customers - and will give you duff info just to phob you off.

Thanks redtoothbrush

Our shed is at the shady end of the garden, so no good.

Our council are very "green" so I'm not worried about planning permission, but uncertain about having the weight of the solar panels on the flat roof of my kitchen, and potential drainage issues.

Would like to hear from people who have done it, if possible. But if it's very uncommon then I may not get any replies.