Thinking about installing solar panels on your roof? Solar panels are a great eco-friendly way to save money on your energy bills, but before you go installing them are your roof there are a few things you should know first.

Can your roof support solar panels? This is a big one. You have to look at a few factors on your current roof to ensure it will be able to support solar panels. Will your roof need renovations within a few years? If it will you may want to take care of any issues with your roof before installing solar panels. This way you won’t have to spend extra time and money to disconnect your panels to handle a roof renovation and then reinstall them afterwards.

Does your roof get enough sun? Is your roof covered by shade for most of the day? If so your “solar window” may not be favourable enough to justify the costs of solar panels. Its also important to envision the future of your yard. You roof may have the sun all day currently but if you just planted a big leafy oak it might cause trouble a few years down the road.

Which kind of solar makes sense for you? There are multiple kinds of solar technologies but the two most dominate to pick from are photovoltaic and thermal. Photovoltaic uses arrays of cells to turn sunlight into electricity while thermal uses sunlight to heat water or air for use inside. If your home uses a lot of energy for heating you may want to invest in solar thermal panels.