The Pitch: Attaching solar PV panels to rooftop decking vs. rafters with Roof Tech

Deck attachment options for residential solar systems are gaining popularity in the U.S., and Roof Tech is one of the early trendsetters in the category. On this episode of The Pitch, Roof Tech’s National Sales Director Michael Dunlap explains:

Why deck attachments are gaining in popularityWhere deck attaching can go wrongWater intrusion risks for deck attachments vs. rafter attachmentsThe added value of rail-less deck attachingHow to do both decking and rafter attachments in the same designHow to adjust on the fly and go deck when you miss a rafter

To go more in-depth, Roof Tech hosted a free webinar with us, covering Flexible Flashing and their new line of solar mounts. Check it out on-demand here.

“Structurally speaking the point load is the issue when it comes to down pressure on a rafter vs. down pressure on decking,” Dunlap notes when talking about deck attaching a rail-less system. “If you choose to do decking you will be possibly using more attachments to compensate for the point pressure, but that really only comes into play for snow load areas. They will have much smaller spans per attachment, but you can go up to 8 feet spans in Southern Texas where it’s all about uplift. The uplift in sheathing vs. rafter is pretty comparable.”

The Pitch is a side project of Solar Builder magazine. We chat awkwardly with manufacturers and suppliers about their ideas and innovations so you don’t have to.

Source: https://solarbuildermag.com/news/the-pitch-attaching-solar-pv-panels-to-rooftop-decking-vs-rafters-with-roof-tech/