Where to Install Solar—Instead of on the Roof

From the environmental impact to the low utility bills, you may love everything about solar. But many homeowners find they you quite fall in love with the way panels look. Luckily, you don’t have to choose between a bulky rooftop solar installation or nothing at all. Homeowners have several options to make use of the sun’s energy, from backyard solar panels to solar pergolas and beyond.

Many of the best unique solar panel placement ideas integrate seamlessly into a home’s exterior. Ready to dive in? Here are some of our favorite ways to install solar panels besides on the roof.

Solar Panels Installed on the Ground

Is your home’s roof oriented in a poor direction for solar? Does it get too much shade? Then ground-mounted arrays can be much more productive. So why not have backyard solar panels instead of roof-mounted ones?

Any panels that go on your roof are limited by the roof’s design. For instance, your roof may run east to west instead of north to south. This means you don’t have a south-facing surface to use when you install. As a result, you can’t take advantage of the maximum amount of sunlight.

You might face additional challenges if your roof’s angle is too steep or too gentle.

Ground-mounted panels let you avoid these challenges. In general, you have two choices for ground-mounted systems:

• Standard ground mounts. With a standard ground mount array, the framing is anchored directly into the ground, with the panels held at a fixed angle.
• Pole mounts. In a pole mount system, the panels are suspended on a pole, elevating them from the ground. That elevation makes them ideal for a solar tracking system. That’s where panels adjust their angle automatically to follow the sun’s movements and maximize production.

So in many cases, backyard solar panels can open up a range of new options to consider.

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Solar Panels Installed on a Shed or Garage

Is your roof well-suited to solar panels but you dislike the way they look? You might find solar panels look more natural when mounted to a shed or garage instead. Sheds and garages tend to have a more utilitarian feel than a home.

If your shed or garage is located behind your home, you can easily install panels there so they have very little effect on your home’s profile from the road.

Unfortunately, you’ll run into some of the same limitations as you would with a roof mount. That is, you’ll have to hope that the design of your existing shed or garage has built-in solar potential.

But even if you don’t already have the right specs, you can always consider building your own brand-new solar storage shed.

How Many Solar Panels Does My Home Need?

We have everything you need to calculate how many panels your home will need based on where you live.

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Solar Panels Used as an Awning or Overhang

Some homeowners choose to embrace the look of solar panels by positioning them front-and-center in place of a patio awning or roof overhang.

Solar awnings are a two-in-one win for energy efficiency. In addition to the energy they produce, they also reduce solar heat gain in the summer by up to 65 percent on south-facing windows and 77 percent on west-facing windows.

When you choose to install metal or wooden awnings, you can even add solar panels on top for a full boost of energy-generating power! For a seamless look, ask your solar provider about rackless options. These rail-free solar panels are flush-mounted against overhangs and awnings for a smooth, integrated look.

Homeowners can add solar over patios, outdoor living spaces, or even the front door.

Solar Pergolas or Carports

A pergola, carport, solarium, or gazebo constructed to hold solar panels makes for another elegant choice. And when you build the feature to suit your solar production, you can optimize performance by choosing the ideal orientation, direction, and slope. These surfaces naturally receive tons of sunlight, so they’re great candidates for a solar panel project.

Garden features like pergolas and gazebos also work well as a place to install poolside solar collectors for solar pool heaters, while carports can be paired with a home charging station to power an electric vehicle. Either way, you’ll be adding a first-class luxury feature to your home while saving money on your utilities.

Solar Tree

As more homes, businesses, and municipal buildings have adopted solar, we’ve started to see innovative installations and ways of melding solar panels into various properties. One of our favorites is the solar tree: a metal “trunk” is placed with “branches” holding small, angled solar panels forming the “leaves.”

As a unique take on residential solar, these solar trees can be custom-designed by a willing solar provider and architect, or bought pre-fab. They often include a solar battery or other storage option as well, so you can store away some extra energy for a rainy day. Solar has never looked so good.