As eco-friendly and cost effective as solar panels are, they have the unfortunate stigma of being too big and bulky to fit smoothly into the landscape. It’s true that a lot of people have a mental image of solar panels as being ugly and cumbersome – yet this idea is becoming more and more dated as the technology advances. These days, solar panels are being built to be more sleek and functional than ever, and they’re becoming an exterior design addition that’s both useful and beautiful.
If you’ve read our blog post on commonmisconceptions about solar power, you’ll know that the idea of solar panels being high-maintenance and unattractive is quickly becoming a thing of the past. But for those looking to build an aesthetically pleasing landscape around solar panels, there are a few tips you can pick up and things you should know before you start planning. Let’s go through some examples and advice below.
Solar panel design trends
When it comes to landscaping trends, sustainability is the name of the game. But despite the positive impact that solar power is having on a global scale, many homeowners are still reluctant to show off the solar tech installed on their property. It’s true that it can be a lot easier to simply install solar panels on vertical stands, or attach them to the roof of a house – but while this requires little effort, it can do a disservice both to your property and to the public’s view of solar tech. Instead, taking the time to plan out a landscape that integrates the panels into your property will make your home look good and help erase the idea that solar tech always has to look out of place.
Take a look at this house designed by Pb Elemental, as highlighted on Houzz:
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| [Photo credit: Houzz] |
If you want to go all in on the sustainability trend, why not frame your green energy with a green roof? A piece from Organic Gardening magazine lays it out plainly: “If you have the resources, framing solar panels with turf or green roofing systems can combine an eco-landscaping trend with energy efficiency; green roofs, too, are a way to harness water runoff and divert it to garden use rather than storm drains.” So not only will you be capturing the sun’s rays to power your home, but you’ll also be using your roof to make use of rainfall – a perfect solution to current water shortages.
Here’s the green roof of a building called House Ocho, with the solar panels applied horizontally to the house’s skylights:
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| [Picture credit: Fulcrum Structure Engineering via Houzz] |
As you can see, the panels are positioned in a way that can let light into the house below, as well as create an atmosphere that can be conducive to native plant life, birds, and bees. A homeowner wanting more color can go ahead and sculpt a garden around the solar panels that incorporates plenty of bright flowers. The entire roof itself can be a structural work of art.
If you want to add solar panels on a smaller scale, here’s a display of how mini-panels can be added as a focal point within a garden:
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| [Photo by Andrea Jones via The JMMDS Blog] |
The juxtaposition of the solar panels amongst the tall grass creates visual interest, as well as making the panels themselves look like a garden decoration. It’s just one of the many unique ways that you can seamlessly add solar tech to your property.
Tips
Before considering aesthetic value, homeowners and landscapers both need to determine where solar panels can be placed for best usage. If you’re not building a brand-new solar panel equipped home from the ground up, one of the biggest challenges is figuring out how to properly position the solar panels so that they can absorb the maximum amount of power from the sun – because no matter how good the panels may look in your garden, if they’re not exposed to enough sunlight, they will not be working at full capacity. Landscaping Network has an easy explanation of solar orientation, based on the sun’s moving position across the four cardinal directions:
“East: The east side of the house will receive direct morning sun but will be shaded in the afternoon by the shadow of the building itself.
West: The west side of the house will be shaded in the morning but fully exposed to the hot afternoon sun.
South: The south side of the house is most critical to passive solar design because it receives the most sunlight throughout the day but never as intensely as the east or west sides.
North: The north facing side of the house is almost always in shade.”
So before you start planning, it’s wise to pull out a compass to determine where you should begin to place the panels. You wouldn’t want to concentrate all of your design onto the north side of a house and miss out on all the solar rays you could be harnessing.
Also, when thinking about incorporating solar panels into exterior design, multitasking ought to be on your mind. As you can see in the house samples shown above, many modern solar panel additions are functional in numerous ways. For example, instead of simply having solar panels on an angle against a flat roof, take a cue from the Pb Elemental house and create a shelf-like canopy that can slope gently over a patio. You’ll get both solar energy benefits and an overhead shelter from the elements when you want to sit outside during the rain.
Speaking of rain, don’t be discouraged from installing solar panels if you live in a part of the country that doesn’t seem to get a lot of sunshine. Those who’ve read our blog post on common misconceptions about solar power will know that solar panels work just as well in cooler or overcast conditions as they do when it’s bright and sunny outside. So even on a day that’s less than sunny, the UV rays will still be able to penetrate cloud cover and provide clean energy to your home.
Conclusion
Creating homes that use less manmade resources and create less of a carbon footprint is the way of the future – but that doesn’t mean you need to live in an eyesore of a house. Instead, technology and design is clearing the way for solar panels to be an addition that can multitask with the best of them. There’s no better time to consider stepping out of the box when it comes to solar panel installation – and the sky is the limit when it comes to inventing your own perfect layout.
Have you seen any unique or innovative solar panel designs on houses recently? What did you think of them? Let us know in the comments.
Contributed by: SolarTech
