solar panels covering a parking garage

One popular place for solar panels is starting to be the parking garage, or at least the roofs of parking garages. In fact, it is estimated that parking garages will become the most popular place for solar systems within the next 20 years for several different reasons.

One of the reasons that a parking garage makes such a good location for PV solar panels is due to the easiness of accessing the area for the actual installation. Many parking garages have open top levels for parking which also usually have unobstructed views towards the sun. Since shade is one of the worst things for a PV solar system, having no shade at all makes the solar electric systems much more efficient.  It will never change that maximum sunlight hours is key to the output of a solar system.

Another reason that businesses and universities are installing PV solar systems on top of parking garages is because it gives off a great show of interest in enviornmental awareness or “Going Greenness” to all of the people who use the parking garage. Having a PV solar system on top of a parking garage is a great way to prove you are going green.

A solar system mounted on a parking garage on a rack system

A third reason why the parking garage is becoming such a popular location for PV solar systems to be located is for cost reasons. When working on top of roofs, there is often the need to re-roof prior to installing the PV solar system. This is obviously very costly. But parking garages are usually built for the long haul, and often a Rack mounted solar system is installed, so the actual PV system will sit on a custom fabricated set of stands, which will last a lifetime when done properly.