วีดีโอ

This strengthens the argument in favour of in-roof solar.

I have been telling people for years that they have only opened themselves up, down the track, for expensive maintenance issues. I've not bothered to work out a mounting method but it would involve hinges and some way to pivot panel arrays out of the way. There might not be a need for maintenance if the roofing was copper panels instead of anything involving paint. But you can't tell people anything these days.

What an excellent, well presented video

I imported a Container of cheap Roof tiles from Indonesia ! Boral took Court Action against me as the Government had issued a monopoly for Boral ? I ended up having to destroy this container of Roof Tiles ? If you need roof Tiles at half Price try Indonesia Companies ? 😂🥺

Nope, roof mounted solar panels aren’t for me - commonsense says don’t do it

The panel clamping blocks are aluminium and use stainless steel bolts. After a few years the aluminium corrodes. Try removing the bolt. Often impossible. Always use silicone grease on the bolts at time of installation.

Very useful information, well presented. Thanks.

This is so insightful information !

Remote rural off grid NSW here solar and wind I do have whirlybirds but also my house A frame as flow through access for air about a foot or so on the eves also I have painted the roof with white reflective eco paint on a 50C day the core temp of the house even in the middle of summer is about 32C, just thought I may add that do whirlybirds work in my situation it appears they do as hot air rises and the whirlybirds clear the roof space heat . Corrugated iron roof and with on measuring the eco tech paint reflects up to 20C of radiant temp and UV. May I add am an opal miner and have two mines on my claim adjacent to my house and workshop I have set up flow piping with small blowers on each shaft , underground temp is usually around 20/21C so I feed that air into the house through six inch conduit and the workshop ,summers here don't bother me or my people. Free aircon in my humble opinion I have been down my mine and can feel the pressure differentiation as the weather changes above ground its all about airflow good people and yes my mine has two main shafts and multiple 9 inch holes same as in nature as in a cave system. But I digress its been mentioned to me before have a wonderful day good people .

Remote rural off grid wind and solar NSW here nice explanation.

I was building a new house with Lutum tiles. Roofers told me they are in receivership. Went for Monier instead which TBH aren't all that high quality.

Mandatory smart meters is now not the only issue to worry about when it comes to roof top solar installation. Thanks.

Well said, great educator.

Corrugated iron roof. Done. Never short of spares 😊

What a great explanation of the issues of solar panels on a roof. I was really impressed by the detail that the chap went through and left me in no way confused as to what can go wrong. In fact some of the issues I am guessing that many people who want these panels are not aware of and that leaves them open to unscrupulous installers who are either not qualified or honest enough to do the job properly.

And the rich get richer, those who can afford solar and get access to public grant money, they no longer are paying their fair sure to maintain the grid but use it when the sun doesn't shine etc. The grid operator just raises electric rates, and those who cannot afford or install solar become a little poorer. In Hawaii, where so much solar is now disrupting the grid, they have to keep their old dirty fossil fuel plants idling so they can pick up the load anytime a cloud comes over etc. They are now charging some sort of extra fee to those with solar to accommodate this, and I expect this will come to Australia, if it hasn't already.

Your going to get a lot more than air flowing into your roof with a blanket gap like that where I live..

It’s rubbish I’m a sparky we use hammer to lift them it bends them we don’t care

Most homes are older builds and don't have sarking.

We rarely use silicon nowadays. it's not tough enough. One major disadvantage with silicon. once applied, it can never be fixed, as nothing sticks to it, and it is almost impossible to remove all of it. But the ONLY polyurethane we use is Sika 11fc, best on the market, never fails, strongest hold , fully UV stable, and should something go wrong, you can re-apply it over old polyurethane, and paintable. Completely compatible with Colorbond. Never had a problem in 25 yrs. Hundreds of roof repairs.

Old very wise saying ............................... if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is getting a Free Solar Roof system due to various subsidy schemes enter into such a category

Good. I'm convinced that builders are getting kickbacks from tile manufacturers to install tiles on houses, and IMHO they're unsuitable for Australia's climate.

Wow that is some food for thought. I feel relived that I haven't put solar on my roof. so much to think about. thank you for sharing what you have learnt

My roof cavity is up to 70 degrees in summer and if the nights are not below 20 nothing cools down because of the furnace above.

Well yeah, but the luxury appearance was totally worth all this bother!

I had 14 panels on my garage roof in Queensland. $5000 installation, $100.00 every 3 months to clean them and aboout 60% max efficiency. Take away all the Labor Party subsidy payments and I wasnt that much better off.

Many thanks for sharing your experience and making people aware of the innapropriate techniques used by the solar panel installation cowboys. Cheers

Thank you. This is very useful information and well explained for a non technical person.

Can you tell me why the hell are so many roofs on particularly new estates in Australia of all places black! It certainly looks uniform from above if that's from where you are looking! But uniformity in europe can be terracotta and not black! I experienced a black concrete tile roof in the 1960's. The first thing that desparately had to be done was pump the ceiling with rock wool! The trmperature if you climbed into the roof space on a sunny day was unbelievable! Metal roofs are of course more reflective. Bur the maddness of black roof in Australia in large estates in unbelievable. The architectural mediocrity of many of these poor cheap mac-mansions maybe a partial answer. Where the cheap appeal of multi-room functionality is not outweighed by technical superiority higher standards of architecture! The cheap uglyness of what are sold as "homes" by so called "home builders" when they are really in the business of cheap houses which when inhabited and furnished will then become some peoples homes! They will also have toilets for urination and defecation and not bathrooms for the same purpose as people in America seem to want to have, to request to be shown to and want to do!

I was approached by a solar system company that set up a representative booth in one of the popular BIG BOX stores. He asked me to get solar panels installed over my house's roofing to get all the wonder benefits and paybacks afterward. I said, "No thanks." Then he asked me why not? I told him it's the long-term problem with roof leaking, roof replacement, removal, and reinstalling the solar panels back without complications and failure consequences plus the extra unknown cost. After he heard that, he closed his case and walked away with no question asked.

If you are afraid to drill a hole for the electrical cable through the tile because you are not confident of your ability to permanently seal that hole, you might start by drawing a sketch of the roof and the location of the row/s of solar panels, and then develop a plan, (on paper if it helps you to think more clearly), to run all your electrical cables through pvc conduits underneath the rows of panels, to the edge of the roof, and then around the gutter or gable or WHY, under the eaves and into the roof space from below, to utilise the force of gravity to prevent rainwater falling upwards into the (repositioned upside-down) hole. After five minutes of the lesson, it would appear that this episode is concerned not so much with solar panel problems but shoddy workmanship problems, and that comes back to the misguided modern definition of the adjective 'professional'. A professional worker is not just someone who went to some uni' somewhere and got themselves some fancy paperwork. On the contrary! A professional worker is someone who is entirely focused on doing the job that they have been contracted to do, as best they possibly can, however long it takes and whatever is required, and let's the money come naturally as a result of having done a professional job, well worth the payment they receive. Too many Australians in the twenty-first century are entirely focused on the money that they can get for the least amount of work and overhead in the least length of time, with no sincere regard for the quality of workmanship, and that is why your video spent quite a while discussing unscrupulous contractors who lack the concentration span and initiative to use the right-sized bracket assembly to attach a solar panel to a tiled roof, which is half the bloody job they're getting paid big money to do.

3D Print the tiles?

So when they can’t replace the tile and they decide to replace it with metal the roofer could save the tiles and sell them to a recyclers instead of just throwing them into a skip bin

In many sectors of this country the same scenario has occurred with larger companies buying up smaller companies reducing the catalogues and eventually the products become a thing of the past when they divest themselves of the companies they have run into the ground. You would think the government would have more in place to prevent this but no.

You’re 100% right when we talk about problems. Solar panels on roof one is the cost of the solar panel and when it has finished its life recycling.

Solar roof tiles are popular in Europe. Why double up on costs and maintenance headaches by having a separate roof and retrofitted solar panels?

I had two Whirly birds installed about 15 years ago on a cement tiled roof. I asked about under eve vents and was told not required as its a tiled roof If i hsd a metal roof the under vents would be required

Boral are shit products anyhow.

After one term of a labor government I would surprised if there are any Australian businesses left.

ok

Amateur Hour Roofing!

Galvanic corrosion caused by solar panels on steel roofing would be another topic of discussion i think many would be interested in. Thanks.

Being a roof tiler for 50 years what you have said is so accurate anyone that gets on a normal single roof will break tiles no matter how carefully they walk get spares before they are impossible to get

Why not have a sump (or 2 or 3) close to the house with a pump and float switch through a smaller pipe to the water tank? Obviously you need a reliable power supply although solar panels and a battery should ensure that and limit any running cost. The way pump prices have come down and pipe prices have increased (here in NZ anyway) I imagine that the install price would be similar.

Take a sample to china find a mold injection company to clone it plastic tiles are less brittle and wont crack as easily cost effective too

This is happening in NZ too. The big difference between us and AU is that many of the box gutters are done with a waterproof membrane that is joined using plastic welding equipment, so there will not be leaks caused by silicon breaking down, or rusting of steel gutters. On some homes, the entire roof is done with the same membrane system, either directly over a plywood substrate, or a warm roof system is used, which also eliminates condensation issues. I've never seen this mentioned by any roofers in AU at all.

A house in my street has flat roof tiles that could well be the same as the ones in this video. I have Boral concrete roof tiles that are no longer in production, the good thing for me is that they are a standard tile design. Went to place that sells secondhand roof tiles, made sure I have 18 replacements or so.

In the past it was good roofer practice to stack spare tiles under a new house. Do they do that anymore?

Thank you sir for this very important information. You took the time and energy to save people a lot of money.

Just one more thing we'll be importing.