Easy DIY Solar Panel Roof Installation 

TopSpeed Parts: signaturesolar.com/shop-all/solar-panels/mounting-hardware/solar-roof-mounts/snapnrack-topspeed-mounting-system/?ref=tWl8ELLgfBNOCr Calculate Solar Panel Cost For Your Home - www.solarreviews.com/solar-estimator?aff=66965&cam=713 DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission.

I'd be pretty leery of all those penetrations and relying on the sealant. I'd also question the strength being only tied into the sheathing (and most people won't even know how well that's nailed down either!) I also don't like all the snow loads aren't placed on the rafters, just the sheathing. I like the front trim panels as it looks cleaner, but it also lowers the efficiency of the panels too since it will restrict some under panel cooling. But again, in your case you're aware of all of this and you're fine with it. Speaking of rafters, I noticed a lot of flex as you're walking around in the video. With the extra weight of the panels, you might want to consider sistering those rafters.

I appreciate your work. I am an architect. When I got started with solar, I looked long and hard to find a roof mount that provides a built-in boot so the fastener penetrating the weather barrier, the shingle in this case, would have a solid flashing that covers the penetrant. Long term I would not want a joint that offers only sealant. I don't care what type of sealant. I would REALLY not want a design that increased the number of fasteners and more holes like this. A solid flashing, a hood, a boot, that drains with the roof slope and can resist wind-blown rain is best. There are several designs that do this pretty well. Applying sealant to the penetrations UNDER the hood is just fine. Belt and suspenders. This is your ROOF. Water penetration is a great risk to buildings. 16 potential leak points per panel. Rails are more expensive. This connecter is fast for DIY. OK. you did a good job telling about it and you want comments on the controversial part. You are a youtuber. Your numbers go up, and I am not a grouchy old guy with nothing better to do. Great. You may already have videos that cover these other type of boots. One day the building gets reshingled and all this stuff will come off. It would be great to have a system that you could match up the same locations, shingle around your boots, and put it all back on again. Or maybe that is when you upgrade to a standing seam metal roof and do S5 clips.

Man that is a lot of holes going through all three layers of a watertight roof! Super simple, and I really like the look of skirts

Looking forward to seeing more video on these solar panels and the wiring to the EcoFlow system. Thanks for sharing.

Something to do before you do you own DIY solar panels on your roof. First check with your insurance company, have an insurance adjuster come out. He/she will be able to tell you if a DIY solar project will be covered on your insurance coverage. This is very important as your insurance company can and will say your solar panels are not covered on your insurance coverage.

Great setup. My thought on clamp layout would be to use one clamp on the end and then a clamp in between the next panel so its less clamps used. The clamp appears wide enough to bridge and clamp to two panels at once.

Hardware mounting points for panels I thought rule of thirds come into play. That way the panels are evenly supported and can withstand forces like wind, deep snow or ice better. Also the panels can handle strong horizontal winds without being stressed as much. In our area, the sheer strength of the shorter lag bolts would come into play vs mounting into roof supports. Like to concept, but would need solid engineering analysis to see if they would work.

Aluminum solar rails are SUPER cheap and easy to work with, I'll stick with them, and simple L-feet with rubber micro-flashing in rafters. I installed my own 5kW PV system this way, several years ago, and it's worked perfect, ever since.

Thanks for this video. This is really a breakthrough product if it really works. I'm amazed at the concept of these. The big hope of course is to bring down the cost of residential solar as labor is, by far, the most expensive component. Snap-n-Rack claims to half the labor time of solar installation with these, and it has a good shot at doing it from what I see. Residential solar cost in US/Canada have the highest per watt residential rates (~$2.90/W versus ~$1.00/W in Australia). Big picture: that hinders the energy transition. *Extra Water Protection* What I might do is 3D print an inverted "V" shaped protector and use the M1 sealant on the protector just above each TopSpeed mount just as extra moisture insurance. That provides additional water protection that you can both _see clearly_ and _easily swap out_ if ever deteriorated years down the road. Such a protector is very easy to install and cheap. The other thing not as easily tested is wind loading. Specs indicate: 90-180 mph Wind Loads 0-90 psf Snow Loads That 180mph is well into Hurricane Cat-5 speeds so apparently can be used in Florida too.

That's 16 roof penetrations per panel. We don't get snow loads here in the Arizona desert, but the sun dries out sealant super quick. I think they would have to be resealed every year or two because you're relying on that sealant.

Beside the regulation that you mentioned, I think that there are also regulation for leaving a walking path, like 3 feet wide, especially close to roof edges.

I could hit a number of things, but one issue I have is the skirt, that will be a leaf litter trap, and can be so bad as to be a fire hazard (in a wind blown fire situation)

Hey Scott, I am looking for a controller that will take in voltage different sources. I would like to build my system to take in solar as the primary and wind as a back up so one charge controller will take care of both inputs. Have you done a video on this, or do you have a suggestion?

Looks nifty!. I don't see sealing as a significant problem if done correctly. Wind resistance may be perhaps. Permitting is the number one reason DIY sucks in many places however. Most people give up before getting past that.

When leaves and pine needles fall on your roof, is that skirt going to cause them to stack up? Rodent habitat.

That's great hardware..I prefer ground mount systems myself..I would caulk those brackets, around the heads of the lag bolts, and on the inside where they come through the rough..My ground mount is built from 2x4's, I built 2 carts on big wheels, each hold four 400 watt panels, so I can change the angle of the panels and move them to follow the sun, because I live in a valley in the Adirondack forest, so being able to change angles and move the panels is essential..And I have 4 stationary 400 watt panels..I traded in my old inverter in and got the new EG4 Luxpower 6000 XP and it runs my whole house easily, including my well pump, welder, Minisplit, microwave, induction cooktop, etc..Well the minisplit runs from it's own panels, during the day, anyhow..Of course I don't run more than 2 or 3 high draw items at a time, but haven't had any problems..I might add a 2nd 6000 XP, just to have an xtra in case one goes down, and to lesson the demand on the other..

Good work thanks

I have 2 grid tie 550 watt panels which I put into my panel in the lower right double 20 amp breaker spot direct. Having trouble monitoring if it’s working correct. Any advice?

Should not be a problem. And price is reasonable.

I would be very worried about leaks, even with tar or silicone.

So, does this only bite into the plywood rather than any framing? I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable with that, especially in a windy area.

I love the low cost and simplicity, but this product puts a lot more holes in the roof than a rail system would.

Yeah I wouldn't put all of my trust in a few blobs of sealant especially for a system that will be sitting on the roof of my home for the life of the roof. For me personally taking the extra time to properly find roof truss locations and doing a single lag per mount with fewer mounting points overall using a railing system seems like the play for a long term installation on a livable structure. With say an Ironridge Flashfoot2 you have a single truss lag with a sealant sealed pilot hole underneath the flashing with a protective rail mounting cap that covers the lag connection keeping the entire penetration assembly covered from the elements. Sure installing on a non-livable structure like a garage or shed then yes this system is perfect where you can more easily monitor water fastness. TopSpeed also allows you to be more creative with where you can mount your panels which is nice.

Would be nice to see summary of costs for the parts installed.

Nice video about a new type of panel mounting, although less options for nice cable management. The sun seems to be behind you while it is morning (I assume), the panels are not in an ideal position for maximum production. Would the opposite roof side be better?

😊 You didn't edit out your pause and restart your sentence. Lol reminds me of me when I'm filming lol 7:20

Thanks!

Nice idea but I would never mount to just the roof sheathing. 7/16" OSB is not going to hold. I wouldn't even do it on 5/8" roof sheathing. Just not enough material to screw to.

Hey Scott--I am LOVING that you have a side channel for solar. I desperately want to have a solar set up but it's just so cost prohibitive. Would love to do a DIY set up, but I have a newer modern home and have a flat roof. Any insights for DIY on a flat roof? Maybe a next video ;)

After many years with a poorly-designed roof, we finally had it modified and roofed properly, and have had 8 great years with absolutely no leaks. The one thing that stops me from adding solar is the roof mounting systems. Someone needs to manufacture and offer a no-holes-in-roof system, such as rails mounted to eaves, which will allow panels to be secure but not bolted through the roof. I may have to build my own...seems odd that after this many years, they haven't fixed the one glaring weakness of rooftop solar.

Great video, so Thanks! Since I live in tornado alley, I've yet to decide whether to do a ground mount or roof mount, or perhaps a combination. I've been looking at different mounting systems and this one looks to be the least likely to hold up in high winds, until I saw the skirting. So, if this mounting system isn't more prone to roof leaks and can hold up in high winds, I think it's worth getting, especially on a garage or storage building.

Great video thank you. Dumb question, do the panels have to go horizontal or can they go vertical?

How are you meeting the rapid shutdown requirements of

How strong is this mounting without the rails to support the panels and distribute the load across the mount to the roof? Any testing on the winds speed?

From the land of Martin guitars down yonder in Berks PA USA 😍 Loving the concert tonight y'all Bravo ! ! !

Hey bud, I've been learning from your videos for awhile now - awesome work by the way. I'm curious if you have a suggestion on how to manage the connection between (semi)permanently supplemental panels on a roof that may be used to feed one at a time of many (semi)portable battery banks inside the house. For example, let's say I want to put roughly 600 - 800w panels on the roof, but I have multiple different battery banks (EcoFlow, Bluetti, etc) that I want to rotate/charge as needed. Let's assume the input values are generally the same so we're not worried about overloading anything. I'm not giving a specific voltage here because I'm still fingering out the best way... Anything I need to be careful of? I noticed many connectors and battery banks have warnings of "do not connect/disconnect under load" ... which is where my question comes from. I ask because crawling up on the roof and throwing a tarp over the panels just to switch the sink load is, let's say, not convenient : ) Might be a good video topic, if you haven't already done it and I missed it.

Could i use these mounts on my camper conversion!? Ill be useing an eco flow ultra for my batteries and electrical system

Instead of biting into the rafters like traditional installs these are simply grabbing the plywood sheeting? Would it be safe in the wind and snow loads?

Is it possible to get a list of parts you used? I'm going to be putting 6 panels on my shed also

My solar installer just installed a new system using new mounting from Ironridge called HALO, it uses 6 lag screws if misses the trusts. It has adhesive pad on the bottom of this mount where the screws penetrate to shingles. This save half of the time for the installer to lay down the mount without finding the trusts. So far so good no leaking but is seem to be too many screws 3 inches penetrate the roof boards. My installers just put 6 screws on all of them even it they hit or miss the trusts. Worse is when you have to remove this racking for new shingles, you probably need new roof board also. But they still use the rails across the mounts. 4 mount/rack for each solar panel and I have 47 of them, that's 282 lag bolts holes.. Time will tell.

Lots of concerns about the holes and sealant, not sure why, you seal all sorts of stuff on a roof and if you install a metal roof all the screws are exposed with a seal on them. Anyways good tutorial on installation....my only question is if a bottom panel gets damaged can you replace without removing top row?

Have you found any difference mounting panels HORIZONTAL like you did vs. mounting them vertically ?

I wonder...would these work for doing just two panels in a line? Also, what width of studs do you need? This looks like this needs a big stud.

That’s fine and dandy until your roof starts leaking from the wind catching and moving the panels up and down from underneath overtime then you have a 20g + roof replacement

I love the vid and info however Im not a fan of roof mounting solar panels unless its on a shed or uunfinished garage. I do believe roof mount systems will improve as what you show

I think we should add silicon to the screw threads as well to ensure sealing.

Per NEC, if the solar panels are mounted to a building, Rapid Shutdown is required. It isn't waived depending on what you connect them to. The inverter may be portable, but you've made the panels fixed to the building, so it must meet NEC in most jurisdictions. There are some exceptions.

Image a leak in the middle of the rows of panels. Have fun removing all of those !

Much prefer a dedicated ground mount or carport if you have the room, especially if clearing snow is a necessity.

I'm much happier with the iron ridge flashed feet i used for my diy solar install. Fewer penetrations, all into rafters, and less relience on sealant. The rail systems also make great mounting points for microinverters and cable management.

Cool concept, but I feel like a strong wind would rip the sheeting right off the roof.

As a 60 year old I still have all that heavy lifting covered. But bending the back fitting all those attaching mounts....I would be aching and back spasms for days.....maybe the price of thinking I could do anything when I was younger!!!!

As long as you have used the plastic singles tha last over fifty years and have a sealed barrier below shingles then your good

What is everybody's outlook for the solar panel market in N.A. come 2024? And what is your favourite large cap solar company?

I think this is a very fast intallation but also the most expensive one cuz after few years you would need to replace you roof and you have to buy 18 of those if you have 8 panel… i got 22 panels and it would cost me about another $1000

"Check out this video where I walk you through this exact setup.." No, the video you pointed at is an 8 month old video about wire sizes. Can you link the correct video continuing this setup?

So 4 of these for each panel. Seems too expensive for a large system

show the wireing

The state and utility are like Darth Vader, they can and likely will "alter the deal" if you're getting "too much of an advantage". Looking at California....

I don't think this would work for a home installation, especially in Florida with hurricane strengths wind. Not bolting into trusses would be a big 'no' for me, how about your house insurance? I don't think they would be OK with this either. We have a roof wind mitigation report done to get any insurance and I don't think the inspection would pass this. This is all besides the big risk of water intrusion through the bolts in the roof sheeting, even with caulking. That caulking wears very quickly in Florida, and you would probably need re-caulk every year to ensure a tight seal. If this is on a free standing garage or shed, maybe. But I don't think its worth the risk compared to the traditional rail system.

arning: Replace your shingle roof before you install solar panels, neighbors had solar panels installed two years ago, shingle roof had to be replaced this year, it cost them $11,500.00 to have the solar panels removed and installed again....

lot of lag in this video, but then I realized it was just the screws.

I'll stick with Ironridge.

More lag bolts + not in solid wood = more failure points.

4 lag bolts that close together will Split wood and 4 bolts is likely Way overkill

Personally I’d never put panels on an asphalt shingle roof. Just imagine what getting a new roof put on will cost. No thank you.

Hopefully most are placing on a new roof. New panels on a 10 year plus roof makes no sense

Hard to believe these mounts are allowed by code. There will defiantly be water penetration, mold, and rotted sheathing as the extreme heat breaks down the sealant. These types of mounts are the reason many homeowners are having their homeowners insurance canceled about 5 years after installation. Hard metal traditional flashing is the only way to ensure no leaks for the life of the system. These are great for the installers but really bad for the customer.

Nope! Their is not one engineer, or experienced construction person that would go with this unless one bolt was in a truss. Not only that, without a counter flashing it will eventually leak due to expansion and contraction with heat and or ice.

As long as the deck of roof is solid you should have no problem. Now, do you really know what condition it's in?

Your ladder shouldnt be where your array is at.

I would never put a hole in my roof

In my jurisdiction the local inspectors will not let you make penetrations without flashings. I've pulled over 200 permits and often work with roofing companies especially when the homeowner just paid for a brand new roof with a long term warranty. I tried something like this in the past and the roofer yelled at me and told me to get my ass off the job site because I did not use flashings. Also we are in the Highwind zone and I do not think you could ever get away with penetrating the decking only. Also I have run into many situations where the decking is old and not competent and you absolutely have to be secured into the roof truss. So you mount six panels Which requires 24 of these mounts and 96 penetrations. No disrespect but I think this is a horrible idea and you do take a serious risk of having a leak 5 to 10 years down the road. Also installers get lazy with the caulking and do you have a good chance of having leaks right out of the gate. Eco Flo delta's are for camping they are not residential power quality and good luck if they even last five years. Also this guy is clearly not pulling a permit because there is no rapid shut down devices. This is another video that is essentially showing people how to do things wrong and is a bit of a stain on the solar industry.

From my experience in the marine industry, ALL sealants eventually leak. And that is on a clean, smooth gel coat surfaces. Sealing on asphalt for long term will be next to impossible, especially the way you did it. Most of the sealant is sticking to the shingle grit, which is not integral with the asphalt shingle. That grit will release from the shingle at some point in its lifetime. As the asphalt shingles lose their volatile compounds, the shingles will shrink and crack. Wind and thermal loads will cause movement and flexing of the panels, and the mounts where they are lagged to the roof. All of these factors spell disaster for keeping the water out. Wet drywall would be the least of my worries. The roof decking will rot, and eventually the roof trusses. This will be an expensive repair once the inevitable happens.

Absolutely not. Relying on sealant rather than flashing?!?! Also, roof sheathing is often only 1/2 inch thick so it's laughable that the bolts are so long - it's almost as if they give you long bolts so you think you're getting a strong connection. I would expect those bolts to get ripped right out during the 60-70+ mph winds I get in my area every year.

I don't like it Don't rely on silicone. Black Jack take take that ladder. You're Standing On put it from top to bottom side to side. Mount panels on your ladder.😮 Take the load off The roof more on Walls of home