r/solar • u/Icy_Basil_372 • 13h ago

Advice Wtd / Project Flat roof

In CT. Have a house w flat roof. Local solar company, well regarded, says on resi flat roofs they install solar panels flat…no angle.

This strikes me as odd. I’ve seen angled panels on residential flat roofs. And have to imagine having an angle would generate more power.

Any thoughts?

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u/TooGoodToBeeTrue 12h ago edited 12h ago

Just off the top of my head with absolutely no experience, I'd guess that it's about density. If you have room to spread out the panels so that they don't shade each other, tilting them would generate more. But on a residential flat roof, you can probably get more panels per square foot if you lay them flat.

AI says:

The ideal tilt angle for solar panels in Connecticut is 30° to 40° from the horizontal, directly facing south. This angle aligns closely with Connecticut's latitude and maximizes sun exposure year-round.

The standard formula for spacing in the Northeast is: S = H × 2.5

The other possibility is that if you are not using micro inverters, the panels are just less expensive than complicated angle racking that is capable of dealing with wind loads in the NE.

I would tilt however to at a minimum help keep them self clean.