Hey all, I posted some of these pics in another thread and got a few questions so thought I'd put together a post on our Solar Patio cover project we completed over the summer. We wanted to replace our backyard patio cover since it was an old warping/sagging wood structure. I wanted something more functional than just shading and had the idea to have a solar structure built.
The panels are bi-facial 375W panels from Prism Solar and the structure is an aluminum frame with steel posts. The bi-facial panels are nice since they can absorb light from both sides including any light bouncing off the water. The visible pillars are just fiberglass covers for the posts. Since there was a previous structure we were able to anchor the posts to the original concrete footings. The company we went with is an aluminum patio cover company that partnered with a solar company. They took care of drawing up the plans and all the permitting/city inspections (pretty strict building codes in our area). Anybody in the LA area interested can shoot me a message and I can provide their info.
The cost was obviously higher than just a patio cover but the federal credit on solar systems also covers any supporting structures so the entire thing is subject to the tax credit. After factoring in the credit we estimated going with a solar cover was about $6-$8k more than a standard cover that we were going to replace anyway.
The lighting is Hue bulbs for the pillars and Sylvania Gardenspots for the little spots inside the channel across the top. The same Gardenspots line the back wall behind the pool. So everything is RGB customizable to whatever color scheme we want.
The structure provides nice shade and I don't really notice any kind of greenhouse effect with it being glass. With everything so open any amount of breeze takes care of that but I suppose on an extremely still day it might have an effect...but a day like that I'd probably be in the pool anyway. They make panels with more space between the wafers to let more light through but honestly I think the amount of light is perfect so I'd rather get the extra production.
Since it's attached to the side of a two story house we weren't expecting stellar production results. It's shaded until about 1pm when the sun clears the roof line. Its 17 375W panels so a 6.375kw system but produced about 16.5kw per day average since installation. We have a separate 6.1kw system on the roof that produced 31.8kw per day average in the same time frame.
Overall, love the aesthetics and the fact that it's functional. The only thing I plan to change is to add a gutter to the roof line above the cover. Every morning dew drips from the roof and is starting to create dirt puddles on the cover which I'm sure is affecting the production.
Hope this helps give some people ideas on how to incorporate solar in creative ways. Any questions are welcome!
The panels are bi-facial 375W panels from Prism Solar and the structure is an aluminum frame with steel posts. The bi-facial panels are nice since they can absorb light from both sides including any light bouncing off the water. The visible pillars are just fiberglass covers for the posts. Since there was a previous structure we were able to anchor the posts to the original concrete footings. The company we went with is an aluminum patio cover company that partnered with a solar company. They took care of drawing up the plans and all the permitting/city inspections (pretty strict building codes in our area). Anybody in the LA area interested can shoot me a message and I can provide their info.
The cost was obviously higher than just a patio cover but the federal credit on solar systems also covers any supporting structures so the entire thing is subject to the tax credit. After factoring in the credit we estimated going with a solar cover was about $6-$8k more than a standard cover that we were going to replace anyway.
The lighting is Hue bulbs for the pillars and Sylvania Gardenspots for the little spots inside the channel across the top. The same Gardenspots line the back wall behind the pool. So everything is RGB customizable to whatever color scheme we want.
The structure provides nice shade and I don't really notice any kind of greenhouse effect with it being glass. With everything so open any amount of breeze takes care of that but I suppose on an extremely still day it might have an effect...but a day like that I'd probably be in the pool anyway. They make panels with more space between the wafers to let more light through but honestly I think the amount of light is perfect so I'd rather get the extra production.
Since it's attached to the side of a two story house we weren't expecting stellar production results. It's shaded until about 1pm when the sun clears the roof line. Its 17 375W panels so a 6.375kw system but produced about 16.5kw per day average since installation. We have a separate 6.1kw system on the roof that produced 31.8kw per day average in the same time frame.
Overall, love the aesthetics and the fact that it's functional. The only thing I plan to change is to add a gutter to the roof line above the cover. Every morning dew drips from the roof and is starting to create dirt puddles on the cover which I'm sure is affecting the production.
Hope this helps give some people ideas on how to incorporate solar in creative ways. Any questions are welcome!
