Day: July 7, 2025

To be clear, in some applications roof top solar makes sense – urban and suburban yards where land is expensive and very limited. But for most farms, homesteads and rural acerages, roof top solar does not make a lot of sense.

Putting solar panels on one’s roof is all about disadvantages, beyond the simple space saved. Roof top means using ladders to install and maintain the panels, it means carrying expensive, heavy panels high in the air, it means drilling holes in your roof, covering your roofing material with panels, putting an electrical system exposed to elements on your roof where it could potentially start a fire.

Yes, you save a bit of money initially with roof top sets up – at least equipment wise – but everything else about roof top solar is bad. Ground mounts are quite a bit more expensive then trackless roof systems. They generally require more wire and burying cable. Labor-wise, ground mount can be DIY by anybody who is a bit handy and can follow instructions and lay the posts and bolt things together. And that can be a savings, especially if you also rent equipment to dig the trench to run the wires below the frost line to ground mount.

Ground mount separates the always on nature of solar panels from the building, lowering the already low fire risk due to bad connections. It exempts in many cases the requirement for a fast shutdown. It allows you to put solar panels in a location that is true due south and at a perfect angle for maximum production. You can also adjust in many cases ground mounts based on the time of year, which can dramatically increase production in the winter months.

But the biggest thing about ground mount is the ease of maintance. Come winter and snow falls and sticks the panels, you can easily go out with a broom to clean off the panels. You can wash them in the summer. They are easily serviced if they are on the ground. If your roof springs a leak or needs replacement, you don’t have to bring in a crew to remove the panels first. You are in control of your equipment, and it’s easily accessed.

It’s true that ground mount panels take up some room and have to be mowed around either with a lawn mower or sheep. But it’s much easier to keep them clean and maintained when they close to ground.