Solar Panel on Roof

[NevadaJon]

I took the plunge and hooked up the Solar Ready wiring up to a charge controller and to the plugs wired on the roof. I hauled my 100 watt panel up there and, with aluminum brackets on the panel, ran one self-tapping scren into the panel. There was nothing for the screw to bite into, and the 1 1/2 inch screw provided with the brackets punched into my roof without even turning. Horrified, I filled the hole with sealant and covered it with roof tape. Now I wonder, how does one mount the panel to the roof? Is it simply glued? Could that even work? Any help is appreciated!

[dvspl]

Search on this site to find lots of discussion of the pros/cons of gluing vs screwing. Here's another forum that also has plenty of discussion: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/ho...rv-roof.12300/

[pconroy]

I'm one of the heretics and refuse to punch holes in my roof looking for a rafter.


I have aluminum angle running the full length of the panel. Both sides.
Then a 1" wide length of 3M VHB tape runs the full length of the angle. So that's about six feet of VHB holding down each panel.


Year 3 and no problems. I check them. And I also have a nylon webbing safety strap bolted to both of them, just in case.

[craigav]

My plan is to use flexible solar panels and eternabond them to the roof. In fact I already have them, but I think I will re-coat the roof first, not that my RV roof is in bad shape but some of the whiteness is wearing thin and it seems to me that I would be better off re-coating the roof top first. ~CA