Photovoltaic hipped roof or tent roof

Hello dear community,

we would like to have photovoltaics on the roof for our new building. Now we are wondering which roof shape to choose. Visually, we slightly prefer a pyramid roof. I also think that compared to a hip roof, it could be somewhat cheaper since there is less roof area, although I have often read conflicting information -> pyramid roof = more expensive. I can also well imagine that with a three-sided installation, a more even yield could be achieved. The clear advantage of a hip roof is definitely the large side facing south. In summer, however, it can happen that the system gets too hot and shuts down. Could it therefore possibly be better not to have an optimal orientation, but instead a wider and more even yield? We are building in the north, near Braunschweig, if that is of any importance.

I would be very grateful for your help and experiences.

Best regards Judyyy

That depends. With a south-facing orientation, you will achieve the highest overall yield, but this occurs in a "peak" manner depending on the time of day. Ideal for feeding into the grid. If you expect your return more from self-consumption, an east/west orientation makes more sense. Although the yields are absolutely lower than with the south-facing orientation, they are better distributed throughout the day, allowing electrical consumers in the household to use the solar power more effectively. But no matter how you look at it, I would not base the choice of roof shape on this detail.

Thank you for your confirmation.

How much loss should one expect with a non-"optimal" orientation? I could probably accept 10-20%, but anything above that would be a no-go. Heating is to be done with a geothermal heat pump, which might also be relevant.

This doesn’t really fit here, but can someone perhaps tell me about the cost differences between the two roof constructions?

Best regards
Judyyy

To my knowledge, this is in the range of 10-15%. However - as always - this is theoretical and depends on the specific layout on the roof, depending on, for example, possible shading by nature, chimneys, etc. What is a no-go, you should calculate and not guess if the photovoltaic system is meant to serve a return purpose.

Regarding the costs of the roof shape, I cannot contribute anything. Only to repeat that in my opinion, there are much more important aspects when choosing the roof shape than the optimal use by a photovoltaic system.

Shading is not present and the yield decreases along with the losses. There is also a slight fear that the tent roofs are just a fad and that eventually people will have grown tired of them, which may already be the case for many.

However, you always have losses due to various factors. Be it the type of modules, their age, shading, incorrect (or not optimal) system design, overheating, precipitation/pollution/snow, ... who could reliably calculate all these eventualities?!

With a hipped roof, it could be difficult, depending on the size, to bring the desired capacity onto the roof. A hipped roof offers surface area in the form of triangles, photovoltaic modules are rectangular. Modules with higher performance are exponentially more expensive. Economically, especially modules with not the highest possible capacity per module make sense. It can be a problem, but it doesn’t have to be. Whether a hipped roof is a fashion trend ... that can only be guessed. For me personally, a hipped roof is typical "Stadtvilla" and just reading the latter word makes a lot spin in my mind. But that is a matter of taste. Just build what you like (and is allowed), or do you think your neighbors will later stand disgusted in front of your building?

What is it really about for you now? Is the factor [Photovoltaik-Anlage] currently the deciding factor to tip the pros/cons list of the roof shape in a certain direction?