Solar Panels on Pitched Tile Roofs

The standard case

A pitched tile roof is what most mounting systems were designed around. Anchors go into the rafters, tiles are cut or dressed around them, and the covering is reinstated. On a sound roof with a decent unbroken slope this is about as straightforward as solar gets.

Concrete versus clay

Concrete interlocking tile is robust and forgiving. Clay plain tile is smaller and more brittle, so more tiles are disturbed for the same number of anchors. Pantiles have a profile that needs a specific fixing and flashing detail — worth confirming your installer has done them before.

What limits the array

Roof area first, then obstructions: chimneys, vents, soil pipes, dormers, valleys and hips all take out usable space. A hipped roof in particular cuts the main slope down and often pushes part of the array onto a second face.

Condition

If the covering is near the end of its life, do the roof first. Nobody wants to pay for scaffolding twice, and taking an array off and putting it back is not cheap.