Got shade? Here's how it can affect your roof's solar potential
LookSee's easy-to-use online system requires only your physical address to assess the structure against factors that will affect its solar performance
Solar power systems are in high demand as homeowners look to shield themselves from ongoing load-shedding and benefit from the government’s home solar tax incentive. However, a factor that is often overlooked when considering a solar investment is the impact of shade on their performance.
But thanks to Standard Bank's home efficiency platform, LookSee, you can easily understand your roof’s solar potential.
“Many homeowners start their solar journey by looking at the various systems available on the market. However, it’s best to consider your property first. Your home’s structure determines how successful your solar installation will be in generating electricity for your family to use,” says Marc du Plessis, LookSee's executive head.
It’s for this reason that LookSee.co.za, SA’s first free online Solar Score for residential properties was developed, to help homeowners understand the generation potential of their roofs.
Got shade?
“Solar panels work by capturing direct sunlight and converting this into electricity. When solar panels are shaded — even partially — the amount of direct sunlight they receive is reduced, which has a significant impact on the performance of a solar panel system,” says du Plessis.
Your home’s structure determines how successful your solar installation will be in generating electricity for your family to useMarc du Plessis, executive head, LookSee
Shade can come from trees, buildings and surrounding mountains. It’s important to see how much shade your roof will experience and whether there is anything you can do to remove or minimise the causes. Bear in mind that as the sun moves across the sky, the areas of shade will change too. You’ll also need to take into account that the sun’s position changes with the seasons — and this could also have an effect on the extent of the shaded area.
Free roof assessment
If you’re not keen on spending the day watching your roof for shade, then the LookSee Solar Score is for you.
This easy-to-use system only requires your physical address to assess the structure against a variety of factors that will affect the performance of a solar solution. These include the direction the various roof panes face; the slope and available roof area on optimal panes; radiant power from sunlight; and shady conditions from surrounding buildings or vegetation.
“The LookSee Solar Score is the first of its kind to provide this level of insight into SA's residential properties, helping homeowners take the guesswork out of their solar decisions. Not only do we provide a score on the home, but we also reveal valuable information such as usable roof area, average days of sunlight, energy generation potential and how much a homeowner could save on their electricity bill.”
Click here to experience the Solar Score.
The Solar Score is available for most of SA's large metros with sectional title properties currently excluded. Sectional titles and more cities and towns will be added during 2023.
This article was sponsored by LookSee by Standard Bank.