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Typical asphalt shingles don't last as long as the solar panels do, which means all panels need to be removed, the building re-roofed, and then the solar panels re-installed. No thank you!
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Originally Posted by bennelson
There's always going to be at least a little bit of roof showing.
In my area, rubber roofing is NOT used on pitched residential roofs AT ALL (with the rare exception of an odd small porch roof, or something else where sheet rubber is used as a "problem-solver"). A pitched rubber roof would simply look bad and unfinished.
I'm on a corner property, off a fairly busy road. I really want my solar system and the garage to look GOOD, so as to help PROMOTE renewable energy. There's already enough people out there who are anti-R.E. for something as simple as their opinion on the looks of it.
If I'm NOT using standing seam roofing, that means that lag bolts or screws have to penetrate whatever roofing materials that I am using. That's more opportunities for leaks and long-term damage to the roof.
Rubber roofing has some of the shortest life span of any roofing material. At some point, all the solar panels would need to be removed for re-roofing, then re-installed - quite a bit of labor that would be saved simply by installing a longer-lasting roof.
Doing something like metal roof on one face and a rubber roof on the other would also complicate things a bit. What material do you use on the ridge for example? Also, what roofer will you hire to do HALF a metal roof?
Also, I still need edging, gutters, and all of the other little bits that make a roof finished and look nice.
Put all that together and I think I would much rather have a very nice-looking roof which is high quality, not leak, and last a long time. Yes, it's expensive, but that's the price of buying good quality stuff.
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For asphalt roofs, you don't need to remove the solar panels to reroof. The solar panels cover that area of the roof, protecting it from snow, ice, water, wind, direct sun exposure, and hail. If you install solar modules directly on new shingles, you should be set for a very long time. When the rest of the roof wears out, you replace the shingles excluding the areas where the panels are installed. It's probably a good practice to find a common roof color and pattern that is available from multiple manufacturers so things can be matched easily in an eventual replacement.
Regarding roof penetrations, the mounts for asphalt roofing shingles are flashed in place, so it's basically like having a metal shingle covering the penetration. This is more water tight than turtle vents, sunroofs, satellite dish mounts, and chimneys that penetrate roofs. The old method of running a screw directly through the shingles and applying sealant has not been a common practice for well over a decade.
Don't get me wrong though, standing seal metal roofs look great and last a very long time if you can ignore hail pocks when they happen. I almost went with a metal roof but didn't due to thoughts about the neighborhood aesthetic and my insurance company paid for all but a grand of it. If it was new construction, a decision to go metal would have been much easier. I've heard on a house your insurance rates are less because of their longevity.
One very important thing to keep in mind. My solar installer told me that if I went metal that you must tell your installing contractor to use all of the fasteners specified for a full load bearing installation otherwise you risk the metal pulling loose in the wind. Apparently it's a very common practice to not do use all of the fastener locations if nothing will be attached to the roof. So be very specific that all of the fasteners specified need to be used and that you will have additional weight and wind loads on top of the roof due to a solar system being installed on it.
As an aside, I think EPDM is great and with a proper installation can last longer than pretty much anything including metal but IMO only when installed on a flat roof and covered in aggregate to protect it from sun, hail, and wind, like it's supposed to be. ..this type of roof clearly doesn't apply to your project though and requires different type of construction methods, flat roofs always bear snow until it melts.