how do I prepare my new home in the Durango area for solar?

I get a lot of calls from builders and customers asking how to make their new home “solar ready” so I thought I’d answer that question here. There are three main things to consider when deciding to make your new house (or a remodel) ready for solar panels in this area whether that’s Durango, Pagosa Springs, Cortez or Bayfield.

1. Try to have sufficient roof area that faces south, southwest or southeast. I work with builders and potential customers all the time to help them determine how much southern roof exposure they might need based on their heating, cooling and appliance choices for their new home.

2. Consider pre-wiring your house before the insulation and drywall are installed. Optimally at the same time the rest of your wiring is put in. Running the wiring from the roof, where your solar array will be, inside the walls to where your inverter will be installed can eliminate conduit runs on the exterior of your new home to make it more ascetically pleasing. Again, I can work with your builder or electrician to make sure sufficient wiring is installed at this time to ensure you’re ready to go when you want to install the solar panels.

3. The last consideration is roof pitch and material. There is an optimal pitch in this area to maximize your solar output and some roofing materials are better than others for attaching the solar panels to your roof. Some people even have a different material installed under the solar panels than the rest of the roof. A little bit of foresight can go a long way!

Please feel free to contact me if you have questions about making your new home “solar ready” in the Durango area.