Adam French started working as a roofer 25 years ago after leaving school. He transitioned to the solar market 5 years ago when he was introduced to an electrician who needed help with solar roofing installations. In his first week, he earned twice as much as he did as a jobbing roofer and realised quickly that it’s more of a roofing skill than an electrician’s domain.
Adam now works for SIG Roofing, helping roofers and installers to supply and fit the correct solar solutions. He strongly believes that roofers should be the key trade that performs work in the roofing space. So, we talked to him about solar opportunities for roofers.
Why is the timing right for roofers to get into solar?
Firstly, it is a growing industry, and some of that growth is due to government regulatory changes regarding the application of renewables into new building projects to improve the efficiency of a property. I suspect it won’t be long before re-roofs on existing properties will be under pressure to put at least a percentage back in a renewable format. The Labour government has already used the Tagline ‘rooftop revolution’ with plans to get millions of homes with solar to hit its renewable targets.
Secondly, solar panels today are a fraction of the price of other renewables, like air-source and ground-source heat pumps, that you can put into your property. I think people imagine that solar panels are more expensive than they are today. The industry is now quite mature, and panels are produced much quicker and with more efficient manufacturing techniques than in the early days, including batteries and inverters. They are also readily available with an efficient supply chain.
Companies like SIG Roofing make it easy for roofers to quote using their solar calculator, which uses Google mapping technology. Tools like this eliminate a lot of the work involved in measuring and understanding a property’s solar potential.
We also need to remind ourselves that installing solar is great for the environment, as it is carbon-free and provides clean, efficient energy.
Why should roofers offer solar? What are the benefits?
As we see an increasing number of solar installations, I believe a lot of roofers will be taking more notice of what solar is, what it means to the roofing industry, and potentially how it could benefit them and their businesses. It adds another string to their bow if they get on board because any work done in the roofing sphere needs to be done by Roofers; it’s as simple as that.
We also need roofers to buy into PV to professionalise the market. My concern in the solar market is that many installers call themselves PV specialists, which is a vague term as it isn’t an electrician and it’s not a roofer. They often lack the skills and knowledge to work actively and efficiently in those areas. I believe that we need the roofing fraternity to buy into PV because they make the best PV installers, even though they don’t quite realise yet that that is the case.
The products have also evolved in the solar market. Most panels now have a minimum 15-year product warranty, and they can range anywhere from 15 to 25 years. The same is true for the electrical components. You can also buy extended warranties for inverters and batteries, the same as you can for dishwashers and washing machines. There’s a lot of confidence in the quality of the products today.
What is deterring the roofer from getting involved?
Many roofers see solar energy as a complex electrical system, but it’s not. The roofing element hasn’t anything to do with electrics. All that’s needed from an electrical standpoint is to plug one panel into the next; outside of that, you need absolutely zero electrical knowledge. But you do need to have in-depth waterproofing knowledge to make sure that the elements that hold up those panels are water-tight and fit for purpose for the life span of the PV system on the roof, and that is a skillset of a roofer.
I think roofers should consider solar panels a roof covering rather than an electrical gizmo. Solar panels are just black glass roof tiles that you put down, link to the next one, and then make sure it’s all watertight around the outside—that’s pretty much it.
What training is required to start solar installations?
The solar industry is open and willing to share knowledge with those who want to take it on board. In my role at SIG Roofing, I spend a lot of time doing dedicated solar courses that cover both on-roof and in-roof systems. I recommend taking advantage of these training courses, and they will soon discover that the skills required are not that vast.
From my experience, every roofer I train can’t believe how simple it is and what it entails. From a learning curve, it’s not difficult. It’s just a case of knowing what the product is, how it lays on the roof, and the systems and checks and balances you must do to ensure it’s safe. But it’s designed to be simplistic; it’s not designed to be hard to install. The products are manufactured in places like the Netherlands, where they are far ahead of us in the renewable sector. They know what they’re doing, and they’ve had years to perfect these products.
I would just say to Roofers, give it a go. Go into your local SIG Roofing branch, get onto the website, and look. There’s help out there, and if you want to take one step further, there’s plenty of training, there’s plenty of advice, and there’s plenty of people out there that require services. So I think, if nothing else, at least do a bit of research and see if it could be something you could be interested in.
Adam French is a Regional Solar Business Development Manager at SIG Roofing. Check out their solar offer at https://www.sigroofing.co.uk/solar-new/
