solar car port

[GerryB]

Has anyone priced up a solar car port? Our PP included a car port 7x4m with a SW facing monopitch roof. We are planning on standing seam metal roofing, and the car port is one of the possible locations for our intended ~4kW solar pv array. If the area is completely covered with pv panels, it seems daft to have a standing seam roof under it, so a solar car port would seem to make sense, although I've no idea about the cost (saving).

[joe90]

@Jeremy Harris saved a lot by not roofing under his solar panels but he did have to use an “in roof” water

Proof system under the panels to make it water proof  , so you will need something under them If only to stop water dripping through the joints. Simple OSB sheets and EPDM  roof might be cheaper than standing seam metal.

[ProDave]

I fitted ground mount solar PV, then decided to enclose the space under it making what we now refer to as either the Swiss chalet, or the Solar Shed

 

 

It's only a covered storage space so the fact it's not 100% watertight does not matter.  to do it properly you would have to either use one of the "in roof" tray systems, or make some other arangements to waterproof the joints between panels.

[Nickfromwales]

They’re not cheap for anything robust, so decide how much you want to part with before mentioning car port or “solar pergola”.....

 

This is what is in the NSBRC if you want to go and see one in the flesh;

 

https://en.irfts.com/pergosolar/

 

The one there is 2 panels deep ( landscape ) by 3 panels wide, measuring in at 6m x 2.5m give or take. Supply and fit for that is ~£10k including delivery and installation, so a big chunk of change! 
The aluminium system above is very nice tbh and includes such trinkets as a hidden rainwater runoff system, which has the down pipes in the legs, but after hearing the price most run off in the nearest opposite direction.  

I’d consider putting an in roof system over an oak frame setup if you want the best bang for your buck. At 4x7 you could get an on-roof setup with 16 panels ( 4x4 landscape ) but for a much nicer look you’ll need 4.5x 7.2 to allow for an in roof setup which will look a LOT nicer. 
16 panels @285w pp will give you 4.5kWp gross output, so would not be insignificant, but you could go up to 330w pp and then you’d be looking at over 5.2kWp. Do a survey for shading as that will dictate what you’ll end up with from each solar day, and then start the maths as to what is sensible to invest vs the estimated break even point and RoI over the next 25 years. 

 

[AliG]

This seems like a very good deal if you are planning on a carport anyway.

 

What am I missing?

 

£5995 for a 24sq metre carport including 3.6kw solar system as the roof.

 

https://www.solarshop.co.uk/solar-carports-and-patio-shading#!/Solar-Carport-24sqm/p/206547638/category=19668082

 

 

Edited October 28, 2020 by AliG

[SteamyTea]

Much of it depends on how 'pretty' you want it to look.

You could go for a simple roof like @joe90 suggests, though I would use GRP, and then fit PV bolted to rails.

You could use a roof intergrated system, saving on roofing materials.

Or even solar slates, so that it looks like a normal roof.Only a case of costing the up really.

[ProDave]

3 hours ago, AliG said:

This seems like a very good deal if you are planning on a carport anyway.

 

What am I missing?

 

£5995 for a 24sq metre carport including 3.6kw solar system as the roof.

 

https://www.solarshop.co.uk/solar-carports-and-patio-shading#!/Solar-Carport-24sqm/p/206547638/category=19668082

 

 

Interesting concept but my thoughts:

 

It's an odd size. big for a single car port but way too small for a double.  Size dictated by panel size not "how big should a car port be"

 

Construction looks flimsy.  Standing on just those 4 legs with no bracing, I doubt it would survive the first Highland winter.

 

The panels and inverter are worth about £2K making the car port structure to sit them on expensive in my book.

[AliG]

44 minutes ago, ProDave said:

It's an odd size. big for a single car port but way too small for a double.  Size dictated by panel size not "how big should a car port be"

 

It is an odd size certainly, I would think 5.5x5.5 or 6x6 is better.

 

44 minutes ago, ProDave said:

 

Construction looks flimsy.  Standing on just those 4 legs with no bracing, I doubt it would survive the first Highland winter.

 

I wondered about the structural engineering. It would seem stupid for it not to be adequately built but stupid things happen.

 

These ones are nicer but the prices are comical.

 

https://solisco.co.uk/configure-stage-1/

Edited October 28, 2020 by AliG

[Temp]

13 hours ago, AliG said:

This seems like a very good deal if you are planning on a carport anyway.

 

I'd want to visit one. Do they actually exist or are they just an idea? I note all the photos look like CAD or are they?

[Ferdinand]

On 28/10/2020 at 06:17, AliG said:

This seems like a very good deal if you are planning on a carport anyway.

 

What am I missing?

 

£5995 for a 24sq metre carport including 3.6kw solar system as the roof.

 

https://www.solarshop.co.uk/solar-carports-and-patio-shading#!/Solar-Carport-24sqm/p/206547638/category=19668082

 

 

 

1 - Does it include install?

 

2 - Working back the numbers, a basic standalone 6x4 carport like that would be £1400-1500 maybe, of which the roof (basic 2 ply pvu roof would be ~£250 which comes off.

 

3 - Solar panels -  I had a quote of under £5k back in 2015 for 4kwP array installed on a bungalow. Current good price is what - £4k installed? Take out the install cost and that becomes £2500-3k.

 

I think that leaves a potential kit input cost price of 4-4.5k give or take.

 

F

 

[AliG]

I think that is just supply, but it does include VAT.

 

This looks like the real finished item

 

[tanneja]

@AliG did you continue to look at a carport?  If yes would you mind sharing your decisions?  I am considering a carport, 6x6, unsure if I need PP as will be behind the further forward part of the house, but would be relatively close to the boundary edge (within 2 m).  I am a corner plot so I am on show to the rest of the neighbours.  Used to have a lean-to carport and it was so helpful throughout the years.  Being able to integrate solar into the roof where I couldn't to our main roof would be a real bonus, it wouldn't get late evening sun as would get into the shade cast by the house, but uninterrupted the rest of the day.

 

Is there a way to have the roof watertight but it not act like a big sail during strong winds?  I would expect a kind of gutter design permitting airflow but prevents rain and sunlight getting through.

[AliG]

We did decide on a carport, as much as anything it is a little cheaper and also looks less bulky, making it easier to see the garden as you enter the property. The saving is not enormous, it mainly comes from the foundations.

 

I think if you are on a corner and the side where the carport faces the road then it will need planing permission. Effectively, a corner is like having two fronts.

 

The roof has to be designed to take windloads, we will have an SE look at ours.

 

I will put the cabling in to connect the panels back to the house as it will be easy to add them to the roof.

 

[tanneja]

Is that a rendering of the final plan?  It sits harmoniously within the grounds and next to the house. 

 

Will the side walls make opening and closing the car doors a bit problematic?  What size is is planned to be, it seems big enough for a single car?  And so what size array will it have?  Do you also have panels on the house roof?

 

Our house is L shaped, and so any carport would sit in the middle of the L, essentially not in front of either principal elevation, but I take your point, it is the safer thing to do.

[AliG]

Thanks, it is a rendering of the final plan.

 

The carport is 5.6mx5.6m.

 

The space the car goes into is 3.3m wide and then there is a garden store at the other side. there was no need for two spaces so we decided a big space plus a store was better.

 

The front of the store is 1.75m from the front of the roof so you can tuck the front of a car under there if you want.