megalo said:Are you guys within a city or unincorporated St. Louis county?
h. Propose roof mounted installations shall meet the following:
i. The solar energy device shall be placed 3 feet or greater from the ridge.
ii. Hip roof with a slope exceeding 2:12 requires a 3 feet wide clear access
pathway from the ridge to the eave on each roof slope containing a solar energy
device. Panels and modules located on each side of a roof hip or valley shall
be located a minimum of 18” away from each side of the roof hip or valley.
iii. Single ridge roof (no hip) with a slope exceeding 1:12 requires two 3 feet wide
pathways from the eave to the ridge on each roof slope containing
panels/modules.
megalo said:St. Louis County just added restrictions on placing the panels on the roof - this really hurts if you don't have a very large area suitable for panels on your roof:
h. Propose roof mounted installations shall meet the following:
i. The solar energy device shall be placed 3 feet or greater from the ridge.
ii. Hip roof with a slope exceeding 2:12 requires a 3 feet wide clear access
pathway from the ridge to the eave on each roof slope containing a solar energy
device. Panels and modules located on each side of a roof hip or valley shall
be located a minimum of 18” away from each side of the roof hip or valley.
iii. Single ridge roof (no hip) with a slope exceeding 1:12 requires two 3 feet wide
pathways from the eave to the ridge on each roof slope containing
panels/modules.
http://www.stlouisco.com/Portals/8/docs/document%20library/public%20works/code%20enforcement/guides/residential/Solar-Energy-Devices.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I'm within Creve Coeur, so this shouldn't be applicable to me (hopefully).
jmeitz said:Got a bid today. Looks like they can do a 11.7kw system for 18k after ameren rebates and fed tax credit. 45 panels of certainteed solar panels. This would produce 46% of my power and they show a break even around 9-10 years. He mentioned they are upset with stl county on changing the rules very frequently. trying to decide if worth it or not.
jmeitz said:
megalo said:I'm going to pursue doing (as much as possible of) the install myself. Unfortunately, St. Louis county doesn't allow homeowners to install the actual panels, so I'll be looking for an electrician to do the actual hookup. I'll handle installing the racks and as much as I legally can do of the other stuff.
I hired an engineer this morning to do the analysis on the roof trusses that the city requires. The plan is to apply for the permit as soon as possible - before the city changes their zoning to disallow panels that are visible from the street.
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