Home solar is now common in Australia, one of the world’s sunniest countries, but many people don’t realise how big an opportunity resides in their backyards — their shed. If you have a large enough shed to support a solar system, there are some great reasons to choose this roof space to install your new solar system. Whether it’s about space, style or functionality, shed roofs are a great place for your new system.

Here we’ve listed some great reasons to install solar on your shed:

1. Aesthetics. Although solar is much more common, especially in Australia, not everyone wants black panels on their roof, especially if they’ve designed their home with a specific colour aesthetic. Installing solar panels on a shed is a good way to maintain the front facade of your home, while still reaping the energy benefits.
2. Heritage. If you live in a heritage listed home, you may have limitations around the changes you can make to your house. Installing solar on your shed is a good compromise, which is often allowed by your local council with the correct approvals.
3. Roof condition. Although solar can be installed on homes of all ages, roof condition can impact on the safety and viability of the installation. If your roof is aging and it’s almost time for a new roof, get the solar on the shed and help yourself save faster for the new roof on the house.
4. Orientation. North orientation is the easiest and most productive option, although the best orientation can vary based on your goals for your solar, including powering your home all day, or maintaining a more even average throughout daylight hours. If your shed offers a better orientation, it may be a more suitable location for your solar installation.
5. Going off-grid. Use a lot of power in your shed for hobbies? You can power your shed without connecting to the grid and avoid adding to home power bills. If you plan to work at night, you can also add a battery for around-the-clock power.
6. Extra space. Already have solar on your house? As solar savvy consumers increase the size of their systems to meet their needs or add batteries, sheds are a great source of additional space if you can’t fit any more solar on your main residence.
7. Modern homes have great insulation, so the cooling benefit of solar panels on the roof sometimes goes unnoticed in a well-insulated home. If your shed is stinking hot in summer, why not put it in the shade? Solar on a shed will stop the sun from heating the iron and that heat from transferring to your shed space. The panels heat up, and instead of the sun’s rays heating the iron, the only heat that gets to the shed is radiated from the panels — a lot, lot less.