Ultimate Guide to The Solar Carport

Solar carports are a great way to curb the amount of fossil fuel sources you use and provide parking space and shade for your vehicles. Although they benefit in many ways, there are a few things to consider prior to installation, like what you intend to use it for, the size of your solar carport, the availability of materials, and the number of solar panels needed. Besides, you must consider the cost of building one.

If you find them expensive, Jackery Solar Generators is a reliable and efficient budget alternative. These power 99% of your household appliances, and their battery lasts long enough for you to save a chunk on electric bills.  

Key Takeaways

• Solar carports are multi-functional as they provide power and a parking space for your car.
• Potential limitations of carports include the involvement of high costs, labor, and space.
• Before installing solar carports, things like the use case, materials, cost, size, and required solar panels must be considered.
• DIYing a carport isn’t very complicated and takes around 6-12 weeks to complete.  

What Is A Solar Carport?

Solar carports are canopies built to shed the covered parking areas. They are different from panels already installed in an existing carport. A solar carport allows the installers to place the panels at an optimal angle to capture sunlight. Since carports are taller, they make space for a car to park and do not require additional land like ground-mounted panels, offering a more efficient use of space comparatively.

Most carports are constructed from aluminum and provide better resistance to corrosion. These are designed to integrate into various settings, including shopping malls, campuses, parks, schools, and hospitals. Another usage of solar carport is that it generates clean energy and provides a profitable and sustainable solution. Besides being made of aluminum alloy and steel, these are high in strength yet light in weight and are aesthetically pleasing. These are ideal for open and large space installation adjacent to residential or commercial buildings.

Traditional carports or canopies protect your vehicles or belongings from the weather and provide a place for shade in the backyard. Generally, canopies are open from all sides and are only covered with a cloth. On the other hand, carports have a hard roof and are fully enclosed with the front side open. Recently, solar carports have been a growing trend in the world. With solar carports, you can install many panels with additional land, like in a roof-mounted system. Solar carports are designed in a way that they are tilted in a specific direction, which makes them capable of capturing and producing more energy.  In the US, many states even provide incentives for carports due to their benefits.

Many homeowners think that they do not qualify for carports and consider traditional solar installation. However, the alternate option would make more sense to them. When you install a carport, you no longer have to deal with issues such as roof angle, roof size, and orientation. This is because, in this case, the panels act as the roof of the structure, and once the optimal size and angle are determined, the supporting metal poles are situated as required. Meanwhile, with rooftop solar, house owners may face issues installing the system due to its huge size, as they may not have a roof area.

How Does A Solar Carport Work?

Solar carports are good for the environment and wallet, but identifying a location to install them can be a challenge. Just add rigid solar panels to ground-mounted carports installed several feet above the ground to provide clearance for parked vehicles.  These find a place in residential and commercial setups, including single families to large corporations, but excessive shading, building chimneys, vents, small roofs, and improper roof orientation limit the installation. 

A solar carport works by converting solar energy captured from the sun into electrical energy. The solar panels are installed on the top of the solar carport, and they absorb the sun's rays when sunlight hits them directly. Photovoltaic cells inside the solar panels convert the light energy into DC electric energy. You can store this electric energy in batteries for emergency use or at night. This DC is further sent to the built-in inverter and converted into AC.

What Are The Pros & Cons of The Solar Carport?

Around 95% of the time, your vehicles sit idle, and parking them requires a lot of space. Compared to traditional ground-mounted PV systems, residential and commercial solar carports have many benefits. Here are the pros of a solar carport:

Lower Energy Bills: Solar carports convert smaller packets of solar energy into usable electricity, which can power most appliances in your home and, in turn, cut your reliance on utility-provided electricity. This way, you can save a major chunk on your electric bills, and with enough installed capacity, you can sell the excess electricity to the utilities to earn financial benefits.

Protect Vehicles From The Elements: Aside from saving on electric bills and reducing carbon footprint, solar carports serve an additional purpose: protect your parked vehicles from bad weather and other elements. It is especially helpful in hot, sunny climates in areas like New Mexico, Southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico, alongside rain, ice, snow, hail, and sleet, to prolong the life of your vehicles.

Efficient Use of Space: Ground-mounted solar projects with similar benefits take up your valuable land, and even an average parking lot isn’t very productive except for providing shade for vehicles. A solar carport offers the best of both worlds- offering a shelter for vehicles and transforming an unproductive parking lot into an energy-generation facility.

Easy Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging: If you own an Electric Vehicle (EV), a solar carport provides an additional benefit of charging. You won’t need to use fossil fuel-powered chargers to fill it up, which is excellent for the environment. And, with the vehicle a few feet away from the panels, you can plug it in easily and charge it in no time.

Although there are many advantages of solar carports, there are many cons to it as well, which are as follows:

Cost of Installation: Rooftops with racking systems typically cost somewhere between $4000-$10,000, while adding solar panels increases your cost by more than double, to up to $25,000, and even more, depending on its size. However, solar carports might compensate for the cost in around 2-3 years, depending on their size, electricity generation capability, and electric bills.

Solar Carports are Labor Intensive: Installing a solar panel carport is more time and labor-intensive than a traditional rooftop PV project. It further adds to the time if the installation crew has less knowledge about assembling carports and mounting solar panels on them. Also, there’s a risk of misaligning the solar panels and potentially disrupting the entire structure.

Space Requirements: In addition to the cost and labor, you must factor in the amount of outdoor space available at your home. An average solar carport typically requires around 400-700 square feet of solar panels to generate the required electricity. The cost increases exponentially with the size of your home and isn’t applicable to those with different backyard plans.

Here’s an intuitive view of the pros and cons of solar panel carports:

What to Consider Before Building A Solar Carport?

Before you take out your tools and materials to build your solar carport, there are a few things to consider, which are discussed as follows:

Application 

Solar carport, as mentioned, is a great setting to park your cars, generate electricity from solar panels to power up your home appliances, and charge your EVs. First, determine its use case and whether your primary objective is to cut down your bills. If so, calculate your home’s electricity consumption based on its size and how many appliances you run, and install enough solar panels.

Size and Shape 

The goals you seek to fulfill with solar carports must depend on the area available to install them and ensure they are of the right size and shape to fit in perfectly. Different types of carports are available that fit into tight spaces like fenced areas and pathways. Single-row carports provide a shed in a narrow area, while multiple-row carports provide a shed structure to park your cars.

Materials 

Next, consider the materials available to you. Two types of materials are commonly used in carports: steel-framed and timber-framed. Steel-framed carports offer more structural strength and durability and are hence expensive, while timber-framed carports look good, are strong enough to support solar panels, and are affordable.

Number of Solar Panels Needed 

To decide how many solar panels are needed to build your solar carport, consider multiple factors, including the amount of electricity you want to produce, the number of hours your carport receives sunlight, the size of the carport, the power wattage rating of the panels, and their efficiency rating. The number of required solar panels varies from person to person; while some need 11, others may need more or less.

Cost Required 

The total cost of building a solar carport varies on multiple factors, including the number of solar panels, materials used for construction, and the cost of a portable power station. Depending on your requirements, the cost might go up to $33,000, but be sure to look into the available incentives. Ones like the Federal Solar Tax Credit can cut your upfront cost by up to 30%, so switching to solar now gets more exciting. Here’s a table showcasing typical costs you incur in building a solar carport:

Other than that, there might be other incentives available to you, like property tax exemptions, sales tax exemptions, cash rebates, and state tax credits. For example, the SMART Program in Massachusetts and the NY-Sun Megawatt Block Program in New York have bonus incentives for solar canopies. So check on your state government/utilities website for such credits and refunds to save a chunk on your investment.  

How to DIY A Solar Carport?

Now, after preparing an extensive list of your needs, you have decided upon the size and type of solar canopy you need, follow the steps in order to build one on your own:

Step 1: Gather Tools and Materials

To DIY a solar carport, first gather the materials and tools needed, including a power drill or screwdriver, wood sander, paint brushes, spade, wheelbarrow, other small components like bolts and screws, fixtures, timber posts/beams, concrete footings, and solar panels. Throughout the entire process, make sure to take necessary precautions, such as wearing safety goggles and the appropriate gear.

Step 2: Cast the Concrete Footings

As you sort out all your materials, start by casting concrete footings to hold and stabilize your timber posts to the ground. Plan your structure, mark the places to erect each post, and make sure all of them are on the same line.

Besides, the footings must be deep enough to support the structure. As a thumb rule, the depth should be at least one-third the length of the post and double its width.

Dig the holes accordingly, mix your cement and sand with water in your wheelbarrow (all three should be in the ratio 1:2:0.5), and pour the mixture into them. The mixture typically takes up to a week to set, so wait and ensure that you water them to avoid any cracks.     

Step 3: Timber Posts

Now that your concrete has dried, it’s time to firm the anchor bases into them. So, polish and insert your posts into the concrete and fasten them with bolts, or else the structure might collapse. During this step, keep the posts up straight and add any additional braces, if required.

Step 4: Beams and Rafters

Then, it’s time to attach beams to the posts, but before that, create a datum line to make sure the beams are on level. For example, you want to build a 7-foot carport, so you cut a 7-foot post for that. So, all your carports must be of equal size, and sand or cut them even if there’s a slight deviation. Then, fix your beams on the posts using timber/metal housing.

As you attach the beams, create a slope on the roof for the rainwater to run off easily. For that, measure a certain distance up and attach a string to mark the top of the slope. Then, attach the rafter using rafter anchors and align it with the string. Also, if you’re using timber, drill holes into it for the water to drain out and keep it fresh.

Step 5: Install Solar Panels

As the rafters are fixed, install the solar panels and connect them to your power system. Read through the guide that comes along to fix them properly, and then follow up by properly angling them towards the sun to ensure maximum power generation.

That’s it; now you can access electricity from solar energy and not be overly dependent on the electricity grid. But these involve heavy investment, and if you’re one of those who can’t afford that yet need a clean energy source, opt for Jackery Solar Generators. These pack enough power and battery capacity to power your entire home throughout the day.

Jackery Solar Generators Explained

Jackery is a pioneer in manufacturing top-quality solar products, including solar generators, solar panels, and power stations. Whether you’re trying to go solar to save energy and cut down your electric bills, living off-grid, or camping, Jackery Solar Generators has your back. It combines Jackery SolarSaga Solar Panels and Jackery Explorer Portable Power Stations to convert solar energy into electricity.

Jackery Solar Generators can be a great budget alternative to solar carports as they potentially cut down your reliance on the electricity grid and lower your utility bills. These are available in multiple sizes, so you can choose any that fits your needs. Here are three popular Jackery Solar Generators for households that can’t afford those big solar carports.

Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro

The Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro features a high-capacity NMC battery that supports the charging of 99% of household appliances, including refrigerators, air conditioners, laptops, mobile phones, TVs, and more. With the charge it holds, any two-bedroom apartment running decent-sized appliances can last up to some hours and save a chunk of your electricity bills. You can also charge this home battery backup with 6*Jackery SolarSaga 200W Solar Panels in only 3.5 hours.

Here’s a list of appliances you can run with Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro:

• Dishwasher (1500W): 1.7H
• Electric Grill (1700W): 1.5H
• Laptop (150W): 17.1H
• Hair Dryer (1800W): 1.4H
• Microwave (1000W): 2.6H