FAQ

As a rule of thumb, 12 solar roof tiles are installed per square metre.

Much like traditional photovoltaics, a roof orientation to the east, south and west is best suited for an Autarq solar roof. Roofs facing east and west should not exceed a roof pitch of 45° in order to get as many hours of sunlight as possible. Since solar roofs are nowadays installed primarily to generate electricity for self-consumption – and not to feed power into the public grid – using an east or west-facing roof has a decisive advantage: the distribution of power generation throughout the day is much more even than with a south-facing roof. Although the latter achieves a high yield peak at midday, most residents have little need for electricity at this time of day. With a particularly low roof pitch, even a north-facing roof can be covered with Autarq solar roof tiles.

This question can be answered by an electrician on site. A meter box that is 50 years old or older will most likely need to be replaced because it no longer complies with the latest regulations. Until now, older fuse boxes have been tolerated – but the integration of a solar roof solution requires an intervention. Due to this intervention, an older distribution box may lose its toleration status and must be upgraded to comply with current regulations.

No – and that is what makes the Autarq system special. As soon as the Autarq wire harness has been installed by qualified experts, a roofer or carpenter can tile the roof with Autarq solar roof tiles. The transfer point for the electrician is the Autarq PV converter in the attic: All cables from the roof are routed there. Connecting the standard PV inverter and, if applicable, battery storage and starting up the Autarq system may take place at a later time. The roofer and electrician don't have to be on site at the same time.

Basically, any roof with a pitch angle between 20 and 60 degrees is suitable for Autarq solar roof tiles. A lower or higher roof pitch is also possible – but before that we should talk.

Yes. In this respect, there are no differences between conventional roof tiles and solar roof tiles. The recommendations and installation instructions provided by the manufacturer of the carrier tiles as well as the rules and regulations of the Central Association of the German Roofing Trade apply.

The cables laid horizontally (on the underside of the roof battens) are called bus cables. They serve to connect the solar roof tiles to each other. Junction boxes are attached to the bus cables at a distance of two tiles: This is where two tiles are plugged into the wire harness. A bus cable may be a maximum of 10 m long. For most roofs, this is perfectly sufficient; for wider roofs, several solar roof tile fields are arranged next to each other. Don't worry: The field planning is always done by Autarq and made available to the executing roofing company. At most, small adjustments have to be made on site. The vertical cables (along the counter battens) are called branch connectors. They are used to connect the bus cables to each other. Care must be taken to run the positive and negative cables separately: Positive cables (red) run along a counter batten. Negative cables (black) run along the next counter batten, i.e. at a distance of approx. 70 cm.

The cable run between the Autarq solar roof and the Autarq PV converter should be kept as short as possible to minimise line losses. It is not without reason that the Autarq PV converter is installed close to the roof. The cable losses between the Autarq PV converter and the standard PV inverter are significantly lower – therefore longer distances can be bridged, for example to a technical room in the basement.

The vertical branch connector cables are attached along the counter battens using standard nail clamps.

On the back of each Autarq solar roof tile, there is a connection cable with a two-pole connector. This connection cable is plugged into a junction box on the horizontal bus cable. It 's very easy to see whether the connector and junction box have been plugged together correctly: The plug has a clearly visible "bump" that must point upwards when plugged in. In addition, + and - are clearly marked on the plug and junction box. Two Autarq solar roof tiles must be plugged into each junctio box. If only one solar roof tile is plugged in, it won't work.