A guide to assessing existing roofs for the addition of solar panels

• Jonathan Prew ^[1]
  1. [1] BSc(Hons)
• Localización: The Structural Engineer: journal of the Institution of Structural Engineer, ISSN 1466-5123, Vol. 100, Nº. 4, 2022, págs. 24-28
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Structural engineers may be required to assess the strength and condition of existing roofs in order to add solar panels. However, there appears to be little to no definitive guidance on how to approach this in a simple way.

    Hampshire County Council (HCC), like many other local authorities in the UK, is rolling out decarbonisation projects – with the installation of photovoltaic panels on roofs being a major part of this. Having undertaken a review of standards and codes of practice, old and new, HCC has set out its own guidance to contractors on how to assess roofs for the addition of panels. This article summarises the guidance prepared by HCC.

    The approach is applicable to buildings constructed in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate regulations, but these are similar to those in England and Wales and typically reference the British Standards referred to in this article. Countries outside the UK will need to reference their own codes of practice; however, the concepts outlined may be of some practical help.

    For ease of reference, the term Eurocode is used to refer to current British Standard Euronorms.