Open roof areas on low-sloped roofs can be ideal locations to site solar PV systems. As agencies seek to install on-site solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to meet mandates, available roof areas will most likely become candidate sites. Flat roofs provide easy access to install and maintain a solar PV system but must be designed and installed well. Poorly designed and installed systems can cause building facility managers problems and even worse, pose life safety issues to occupants. One area often overlooked has to do with roof interactions; roof-mounted solar PV systems must be designed so that routine maintenance of the underlying roof system can take place unimpeded. If designed and installed well, a solar PV array on low-sloped roofs (commonly called flat roofs) can provide reliable and long-term good performance and even outlive the useful life of the underlying roof.
Instructors
Gerald Robinson, Program Manager, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Read Bio
Gerald Robinson is an Energy manager with over 25 years' experience initiating and completing a broad range of energy efficiency, water conservation, and renewable energy system initiatives. Gerald has an extensive track record of innovative yet practical problem solving in both the private and public sectors. Gerald's management experience spans a wide variety of organizations including universities, municipalities, large corporations, non-governmental organizations, and federal agencies. He has gained an extensive knowledge of all phases of project development and implementation including, legal & regulatory, engineering, project finance, audits, system commissioning, specifications writing, construction management and commissioning. Gerald is an ardent customer advocate able to work with a wide variety of stakeholders. He acts in the role of agency technical advocate drawing upon his background not only as an energy manager but also as a plant manager while at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) where he led the university through many multi-million-dollar utility infrastructure modernization and planning projects.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course, attendees will be able to:
- Recognize what factors are important to consider when choosing a solar PV product to place on their roof;
- Identify life-safety issues that are unique to roof systems and how to prevent them from occurring;
- Recognize interactions between solar PV arrays and roofing systems such as a) how to enable roof inspections, repair, and maintenance to occur unimpeded; b) how to plan for eventual roof replacement; and c) how to maintain roof systems;
- Identify structural considerations for areas with high wind and snow loads;
- Identify how to get full 30-year life from a system.
