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Can I put solar panels in my house?

Can I put solar panels in my house? This is the question that many people interested in solar energy most often ask specialists in the sector. A priori, the answer is yes. In principle, all citizens have the right to put solar panels in our house, but this must be qualified.

Currently we have quite favorable regulations for the installation of solar energy in homes and small businesses, mainly self-consumption installations (the energy generated is consumed in the home itself). But there are also urban regulations, mainly municipal, that can put some obstacles or demand certain requirements.

In addition, we have the conditions that our home has and that can make the installation of solar energy more complex.

When is it easier to put solar panels?

Solar panels in single-family homes are much easier to install than in block homes. In single- family homes , we have a large roof that is the ideal space to install solar energy. Any house has enough meters of available and unused roof that we can cover with solar panels. In addition, installations on the roof are easier to carry out because we do not have other objects that make it difficult for us to place the panels; they are not visible and take more advantage of the sun’s energy because they can be more easily oriented.

This is strange, because if your roof is coplanar, the modules cannot be oriented. I don’t really know what we mean in this paragraph.

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Logically, the level of solar exposure that our home has also favors the placement of solar panels . Where there are more hours of sunshine, a photovoltaic installation is more profitable. However, in countries like Spain , with a large number of hours of sunshine per year , we can say that solar panels are profitable in any area of ​​the country, although in some places they will produce more energy than in others.

If the house is facing the sun and in areas where there are no shadows from other buildings or trees, the panels will give better performance because they will have more hours of direct exposure to the sun.

Characteristics of the ideal covers for photovoltaic installations

The best roofs to install solar panels are those with a slope between 15 and 45 degrees . It is typical of any roof with two or more slopes. In these cases, the panels are installed on light rails that are barely visible and the installation is very discreet and well integrated with the house.

As for the type of roof tiles , concrete ones are ideal, because they are very resistant and withstand the weight of the installation well, as well as the assembly process. With other less resistant tiles, such as clay, wood or slate, it is necessary to be much more careful. The plates can be installed without any problem, but it is better to turn to professional and specialized assembly companies.

If the roof is flat , we can make up for this difficulty by installing metal supports that raise the plates and allow them to be oriented to the sun.

Possible difficulties to put solar panels

Although the REGULATION OF SOLAR PANELS IN HOMES establishes a very flexible regulatory framework, we can find other types of limitations to install them:

  • – Installations in housing blocks . In blocks of flats it is difficult to install solar panels, since we have to agree with the entire community of owners for it because the normal site for installation would be the roof of the building.
  • – Installations in historic centers or in spaces with special urban protection. In buildings located in historic centers we can find regulations aimed at protecting the architectural integrity that limit this type of installation.
  • – Buildings with poor orientation and with many shaded areas. In these cases we will have a lower production, although it is difficult to find an area in Spain in which, no matter how little sun we receive, it does not compensate for the energy savings in the electricity bill, even if it is lower.
  • – Restrictive municipal ordinances : solar panel installations may be subject in some cases to regulations that regulate their placement, some of which are more restrictive than others. In any case, most municipalities are simplifying procedures and adapting their regulations to this new reality that has so many advantages for consumers and the environment.
  • – Despite all these difficulties, we also find different TYPES OF SOLAR PANELS on the market that can be adapted to any situation.

he Spanish regulatory framework for solar self-consumption

RD 244/2019 brought with it a very important change in the Spanish photovoltaic sector. This new regulation has dramatically boosted the placement of solar panels in houses. The Royal Decree establishes two types of facilities : those that are oriented only to electricity self-consumption and those that allow the surpluses generated to be sold to the distribution company. The latter are the installations connected to the distribution network , and represent an important novelty of the new legal framework.

Another important novelty of this decree is that the so-called “ SUN TAX ” , which imposed fees on this type of facility, was annulled. The promoters of photovoltaic installations can have panels that produce energy to be consumed in their home instantly, but they also have the possibility of selling surpluses (the difference between what they produce and what they consume at a given time – compensate). In this way, the investment made is amortized before.

Whatever the method used, we will be achieving significant savings on the electricity bill.

In installations of up to 15 KW , we can easily take advantage of the self-consumption modality with the sale of surpluses, because the procedures are simple and fast . Thus, we can be saving energy and, at specific times, pour energy into the network, with which we will achieve greater performance.

In installations of more than 15 KW, we can also sell energy to the grid, although in these cases the procedures with the distribution company will be somewhat more complex.

In short, if you are wondering “ can I put solar panels in my house? ”, the answer will be, in most cases, yes. You should only let yourself be advised and accompanied throughout the process by a specialized company that accompanies you in all phases of design, administrative procedures and execution of the work.

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