Solar Panel Carport Roof
There are several reasons why fitting solar canopies as carports makes sense. Most importantly, installing a solar panel carport roof provides extra space for PV panels to your property in addition to the main roof. However, the benefits of a solar carport go far beyond a profitable PV system.
Overview
Advantages
The most important advantage of solar PV carports is the ability to combine a solar panel system, EV charging station, parking space and battery storage in one.
Commercial Solutions
The optimal solution for each parking system will depend on location, terrain exposure and row spacing. Larger parking lots can be arranged to cover two rows of cars, saving both space for the foundation blocks and installation time.
Requirements
There is a large number of different factors and requirements, the most important of them being, slant and load capacity, orientation towards the sun and shading of the carport.
Domestic Solutions
We recommend a one or two-lot solution for residential users installing a solar carport. Ideally, it is placed close to the main building (and distribution panel) to minimize wiring costs.
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Benefits of a Solar Panel Carport Roof
Solar Carport Advantages
- Extra Space: A solar carport naturally provides extra space for PV panels on the roof.
- Versatility: A solar carport can combine car park, charging point, solar array and battery storage in one.
- Cost-Efficient: A solar carport greatly reduces electricity bills.
- Aesthetic: A solar carport gives a futuristic look to any environment.
- High return on investment
Clearly, the whole concept of a solar carport revolves around it’s flexible usability: Not only does it provide sheltered parking for electric vehicles. It also acts as an independent solar power system that can power connected solar batteries and/or EV charging units.
Given that a PV carport combines so many aspects of sustainable energy in one, it also multiplies the cost advantages of each aspect: A solar panel roof carport allows you to charge your EV with free and unlimted solar power while you can store any excess energy for later use or export to the grid.
A solar carport is particularly useful if there is not enough roof space and a ground mounted system is not an option. Furthermore, it’s aesthetic effects are not to be undersetimated: A solar carport provide a true look into the near future of electric mobility, 100% powered by renewable energy.
Solar Carport Requirements
Overview
- Orientation: Carports should be facing south for maximum sunlight exposure
- Load capacity: A solar panel carport roof should produce and store enough power to suit the needs of the project.
- Slope: The slope of the roof should be chosen so that it absorbs as much sunlight as possible.
- Shading; The roof should be covered by as few shadows as possible.
To make sure that your carport solution works as intended, one important aspect is a sufficient power capacity. Therefore, you should determine in advance how much electricity you want to generate, store and use with your carport.
Example: A private homeowner wants to install a PV carport for his Nissan Leaf (battery size: 40kWh). He wants to charge his car from flat to full at least once per week with the power that the system generates.
Solar Panel Carport Roof – Example Calculation
| Car Battery Size | PV Panel | Generated Solar Power/Day | Days Needed to Produce 40kWh |
| 40kWh | LONGi Hi-MO 4m Module (450W) | ~2900 W | ~14 |
This example shows that a parking lot with a 450W solar panel takes about two weeks to produce 40kWh. If the carport owner wishes to charge his car once per week using the solar power from the carport roof, he would need 2 carport modules. In order to produce 40 kilowatt hours (kWh) of solar energy in just one day, an 8kW solar system would be required.
The size of our standard carport modules is 3m*6m=3*6=18㎡. If the project requires more than one carport module, the required area has to be scaled accordingly. In the above example, you would need 6m*12m=72㎡ to install two carport modules.
INFO: This is merely a theoretical example. Solar power systems will not always produce the exact same amount of power every day. Under real-world conditions, the amount of power that PV modules produce fluctuates.
Thus, the nominal power rating should be slightly higher (add 2 or 3 more solar panels) to make sure that 40kWh are produced every day. Furthermore , EV charging units will not work unless sufficient power is introduced at once, which is why a grid-connection is required in most cases.
For a detailed and precise calculation for the individual requirements of your project, feel free to book a free online consultation appointment with us.
Solar Panel Carport Roof Slope & Shading
The shape of the roof is particularly important in order to achieve the highest possible solar yield with a solar carport roof. Flat and pult-shaped carports produce the best results in most situations. This is because they offer the possibility of mounting the solar system almost horizontally. This is the closest you can get to maximum solar radiation during the day.
Note that angle of incidence of the solar rays on the solar panel carport roof varies with the daily and annual changes in the sun’s position – and so does the system’s yield.
Residential Solar Carport
Our solutions for domestic carports open up a large range of possibilities. They are fully customizable and allow for maximum flexibility according to user needs.
Our carport can be combined with a battery storage solution: The AS 1-3KS-5.1 provides a full-fledged smart energy management system and has its own integrated inverter.
Those who want to equip their carport with a home EV charging system can select their model of choice from our AC home chargers or the Polaris DC home charger.
- Area/Module: 18㎡
- Optional battery storage
- Optional EV home charging point
- PV module output: 450W
- Fully customizable
Commercial Solar Carport
For those who want to expand the storage capacity of the AS1, we recommend the modular B1 ion-lithium battery as an addition.
Our commercial carport solution can be equipped with powerful fast or rapid chargers from our DC Fast Chargers line.
- Area/Module: 18㎡
- Optional battery storage
- Expanded storage capacity with modular batteries
- Optional DC fast charging
- PV module output: 450W
- For large-scale projects
- Fully customizable
Solar Panel Carport Roof FAQ
What is the Payback Period of a Solar Carport?
Generally, the payback period shortens with the size of the system, as the fixed costs are spread over more solar modules.
How Much Does a Solar Carport Cost Per Watt?
According to various reliable sources, solar carports cost around €3.30 (GBP 2.81) per watt in mainland Europe and the UK, with the average price ranging from €3.06 (GBP 2.61) per watt to €3.54 (GBP 3.02) per watt.