When you travel through residential locations in the Bay Area or the Sacramento Valley, you often see black rectangles on the rooftops of homes. Some are very thin, while others are comparatively thick. The thicker ones are for photoelectric systems. They’re solar panels, converting sunlight into electricity. The thin ones are thermal panels, transferring the heat from the sun’s rays to water flowing through them. But you seldom see both types on a home’s roof. It’s either the PV panels, or the pool heating panels. Why not both?
The primary reason is space. To generate enough electricity, several solar panels need to be installed on the roof facing the sun. To properly warm up the water of a swimming pool, an array of thermal panels also needs to be on the roof, facing the sun. For many homes in California, there isn’t enough roof space to accommodate both systems. However, that’s often because the two systems might not be installed with the other in mind. Many solar power systems get installed to work around other roof fixtures, but the installation company might not ask the homeowner if they intend to heat up the water of their swimming pool. Likewise, many companies installing a solar pool heating system don’t take into account whether the homeowner wants to install solar electric panels later on.
Solar Pool Heating and Photovoltaic Can Coexist
With Solaron and the right amount of planning and preparation, we may be able to arrange the solar panels on your roof so that they can both be there. If you intend to have Solaron install a photovoltaic panel system, and you have a swimming pool, we can use our expertise and design skills to arrange room on your roof for both systems. Since we use SunPower photovoltaic solar panels exclusively, and they produce the most efficient PV cells available, you’d be amazed at what we can accomplish in both solar electric and solar pool heating, side-by-side.
Would you like the best of both worlds? Do you already have solar panels installed, but want a solar pool heating system as well? Do you want to extend the use of your swimming pool now, with an option for solar panels later? Whatever the case, Solaron is ready and willing to work with you. Give our office a call or schedule an appointment online. We’ll be happy to analyze the orientation and available space of your rooftop, and then show you all the options.