The Solar Revolution — Coming to a Rooftop Near You

IIBEC – Canadian Prairies is hosting a Lunch ‘n Learn talk on “The Solar Revolution — Coming to a Rooftop Near You”.

Join us for an IN PERSON talk, on The Solar Revolution — Coming to a Rooftop Near You. Event will be held at the ARCA Edmonton Office @ 9090 – 51 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta. Event will take place on November 17th between 11:30AM to 12:45PM.

Overview: Gordon will provide information on the topic of PV and how to safely and efficiently work with solar PV systems on roofs. He will also set out framework on how to establish an effective relationships between the solar PV and the roofing industries so that we can learn from each other and be able to do our work more effectively and with less cost to owners

The world of solar electricity is changing quickly. The price of solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity has marched downwards along with staggering world-wide growth rates of 43% per year for the last 29 years. The time has arrived for sunny Alberta to harness its most-abundant energy resource.

Building rooftops and walls are the most-common location for solar PV — all roofs need solar to be installed on them. Rooftops and walls are a structural interface between solar PV arrays and building cladding systems. Since solar is so new, however, how much do PV designers and installers know about roofing and cladding systems? How much do roofing installers and inspectors know about solar PV systems?

This presentation focuses on typical commercial solar rooftop installations — what would roof installers and inspectors like to know about rooftop solar — design, layout, tilt angles, roof clearances, ballasted vs attached PV arrays, ballast weights, sacrificial membranes, inverters, cables, raceways,

This talk is being presented by Gordon Howell, P.Eng. This Lunch ‘n Learn is good for 1 CEH.

​About the presenter:

Gordon Howell has a BSc in electrical engineering from the UofA in 1975 and has been working in the solar industry for 45 years. He co-founded Howell Mayhew Engineering in Edmonton in 1985 and has worked almost exclusively on PV system performance measurement and analysis, PV design, development, consulting, and standards development. Solar PV is becoming larger and more challenging and diverse. Commercial rooftop PV systems are prime examples of this. He loves helping people understand solar PV and how to work with it.

Over the years he has worked with Alberta’s government, electricity regulators, utilities and municipalities to identify and eliminate the barriers to grid-connected solar-PV systems in order to help Alberta get ready for inexpensive wide-scale solar electricity. This time has indeed now come! As a result, all our buildings and homes and electricity infrastructure need to be constructed to be “PV-ready” at a minimum.