Removing & Possibly Reinstalling Solar PV and Thermal Panels
Occasionally there is a need for solar panels to be removed from the roof. This can be for a variety of reasons including:
- Planned building works
- Localized roof repair
- Complete reroofing (particularly with roofs with very old tiles or flat roofs)
- Disposal of panels that are old and don’t function anymore (often thermal panels)
Rayotec can help to remove & reinstall both solar thermal panels & solar PV panels. These panels can be reinstalled on the same roof or a different roof if required.
We have our own teams of roofers, PV electricians and solar thermal heating engineers to help with both domestic and commercial projects.
If you would a quotation for solar panels removal please send us the following information:
Essential Information- A photo of the array panels and a photo showing the whole side of the house including 3m of ground next to the house
- Technology type (solar PV or hot water panels)
- Whether safe access (scaffolding) will be provided by others
- Your address and contact details
Additional information if you require reinstallation
- Are you changing the tile type of the roof (roof fixings are tile specific - not required if disposing of panels)
- Are you changing the location or layout of the panels (changes the number of fixing required and length of rails)
- Are you reinstalling all the panels (fewer panels may affect the inverters performance)
- Is the pitch or orientation of some of the panels going to change (may not work with current inverter)
- Are all the internal components going to stay in place
Do we cover your area?
Domestic Projects: We cover Surrey, Hampshire, Middlesex, Sussex, Kent, Berkshire & most of London.
Contact us
Enter your details below and one of our team will be in touch
Removing and Reinstalling PV panels
PV panels are relatively easy to remove and reinstall due to their simple design. The system needs to be electrically isolated first to make it safe to work on. The solar panels, rails, hooks and then removed and stored safely on site.
As long as type of roof tile is not changed, we should be able to use the existing roof frame when reinstalling thus saving money.
Occasionally when building works is being undertaken, the roof space is reduced and not all the panels can fit back on. We can calculate whether the old inverter works effectively with the reduce array size or if a new inverter is required. If necessary, we can also fit new inverters that allow panels to be fitted on multiple roofs.
Removing and disposing of solar thermal panels
Firstly, the solar thermal system needs to be drained of the heat transfer fluid. Once the system is empty we can either just remove the panels and frames or we can also remove the internal solar components (expansion vessel, pump station, controller etc).
Reinstalling thermal solar panels.
We have found that most flat panel solar systems are ok with being reinstalled as long as they are of good build quality and good working order. High performance vacuum panels with tubes are more tricky to reinstall and are easily damaged when being removed or reinstalled. We will advise you on a case by case basis of the likelihood of success.
Once the panel is reinstalled, we recharge the system up with heat transfer fluid and fully recommission the system.
Commercial solar panels
The majority of commercial solar system are installed on flat roofs that need to be periodically repaired or replaced.
We have in the past removed either parts of the solar array to allow for localised repair or the whole array to allow for reroofing. We will work with the client and their roofing contractor to ensure a smooth process.
