SPG Solar, Inc. (SPG)

SPG Solar, Inc. (SPG) helps architects, developers and builders meet new requirements for renewable energy, and explore the latest developments in solar design for their projects. SPG also helps builders move seamlessly through the permitting process.

Information Programs
SPG’s knowledge and experience is critical to integrating solar energy systems into a building structure. When properly designed, a solar array is attractive or unobtrusive, and functions as a component of the building’s architecture. Solar arrays are appropriately regarded as a design element like windows and rooflines—not a disruption of the designer’s vision.

SPG offers:

A team of engineers to assess a facility’s energy usage and provide a profile for future electricity needs
Solar tours of built facilities that incorporate renewable energy systems
Assistance with the engineering, technology and design of solar photovoltaic arrays
Expert understanding of local codes and regulations that assist developers in speeding up the permit process
A referral network of professionals who can add their expertise to the success of a solar installation
Educational resources

Solar for Various Building Applications
New construction codes in many Northern California cities require a significant percentage of total energy in new housing to be supplied by solar and other renewable energy sources. Solar presents many advantages to developers of subdivisions and new home communities. SPG has designed and installed solar on over 400 homes, and assists home builders with engineering, design and installation expertise.

For multi-home developers who use standardized new home construction techniques, high-volume purchasing of solar panels brings the price per unit of solar down. The economies of scale available to SPG can thus be shared with the home buyer.

Residential builders may offer solar as a value option–home buyers may choose solar for their homes, become energy independent and eliminate electric bills. Federal tax credits for renewable energy as well as state and local rebates and paydowns, also make solar an affordable option for commercial real estate or home developers.

SPG designs solar photovoltaic systems to generate more electricity than most homes and businesses consume. The surplus electricity is sent to the public utility grid. In a process called net metering, the utility is obligated by state law to credit the solar producer for the energy it sends back. During the winter months, the home or business taps into the credit generated during sunny days, zeroing out the annual electric bill. Net metered commercial solar systems also have a shortened ROI, which can be as short as five years or less.

Special Services

SPG is on call to advise architects and offer options that take advantage of the ease by which solar panels can be integrated into a building's construction.

SPG assesses a facility’s annual energy needs in order to specify the optimal size of a solar array to meet total energy demand.
Working with SPG’s knowledge and experience, architects can configure solar panels to fit within a building’s design.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are modular and available in a range of sizes, proportions, colors and shapes.
SPG helps developers move through the permitting process and guides builders through local codes, regulations and renewable energy requirements.
SPG’s financial experts assist with the rebate and paydown cycle, so the solar power system is built to code with the maximum community support available.

BIPV: Building Integrated PV
A solar energy array that is designed into the structure and appearance of a building is called building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). BIPV refers to solar installations that are woven into a building’s design, and not simply bolted on.

With planning assistance from SPG, a BIPV array can provide for all of the electric demands of a facility, and harmonize with its overall design. It can be an attractive part of the structure or a feature that complements the design.

BIPV design considerations include electrical codes and standards and safety issues. As a licensed electrical contractor with decades of experience installing high voltage electrical systems for buildings, SPG advises architects on how to build the safest and most productive solar system for their projects and meet electrical codes.

Solar Power is best integrated with a building in the preliminary design stage. The solar panels and the building proportions and details can be harmonized by the architect in conjunction with SPG experts.

SPG provides information about PV panels and their electrical and support infrastructure so the designer can determine how the panels will be implemented.

PV solar panels, which are flat, square, rectangular and now triangular in shape, lend themselves to every kind of design for homes and buildings. Modern design takes on a new dimension when horizontal or angled surfaces of a structure also generate clean, reliable electricity from the sun.

A variety of other architectural solar applications besides facades or roofing are available to make a substantial difference in a building’s electric bill:

Awnings that shade south and west windows cut heat gain while generating electricity
Shade structures for cars or outdoor walkways and gathering places
Atrium coverings that admit daylight but protect the inner core of a building
Freestanding pole-mounted arrays that add a design element to the landscape

SPG designs solar energy systems that stay connected to the public utility grid, which continues to supply power at night and on dark, rainy days. With grid-connected, net-metered PV systems, large storage battery rooms are unnecessary and can be removed from the floor plan. Electrical wiring from the solar array is gathered in a single closet for connection to a building’s electrical backbone, saving on valuable floor space.

Typical solar installations are mounted on flat rooftops on angled supports facing south to maximize collection of sunlight year-round. Angled solar arrays can be integrated in the roof design, or hidden behind a parapet like HVAC equipment.

Design Alternatives
A solar power installation for a commercial building or residential development adds high value to the property. An office space or a house is highly desirable if it can generate its own power, is independent of energy price spikes or rolling blackouts, and doesn’t harm the environment.

Designing BIPV from the start should not be an aesthetic or technical ordeal.

SPG assists architects in sizing the optimal amount of photovoltaic panels for a building’s energy requirements.
An architect may decide to make the solar array a key design element of a structure. SPG will offer advice on available technology, product choices and installation to meet the architect’s vision.
SPG provides a range of custom mounting designs, generated by its in-house engineers and CADD operators, so that the solar panels integrate with the overall building design.

Many low-rise California commercial buildings have vast expanses of flat roof area. This large unused space is ideal to mount solar arrays and eliminate electric utility demand. A solar array takes advantage of the roof surface by putting it to work for the building owner.

Solar PV panels are mounted on supports that tilt the panels at the optimum angle to the sun for the most efficient sunlight collection. Open supports under PV panels provide airflow across all surfaces of the panels, which are more productive when they’re kept cool.
Roof-mounted PV panels shade the roof surface from the sun’s UV radiation, helping to prolong the life of the roof.
Because the panels are separated from the roof surface by open supports, precipitation flows off the panels and roof and evaporates normally. The roof membrane is accessible for maintenance.
A parapet around the rim of a flat roof prevents the array from being seen from the street if the visible solar array has a negative visual impact, or is inappropriate for a building’s design.

For buildings with pitched roofs, a south- or west-facing roof surface may be ideal for placing solar panels. The Mt. Tam Racquet Club in Larkspur, California, a large tennis and fitness club, has a massive sloping roof plane that faces southwest—and a popular downtown intersection.

SPG covered the entire southwest surface of this roof with a monolithic solar PV array, for an extremely attractive, unified design that enhances the building’s visual appeal from the street and neighboring buildings. SPG designed floating seams between sections of the array to accommodate roof expansion and contraction.

The visual impact of the roof, now entirely surfaced in blue-black crystalline panels, is attractive and interesting. It has a far less intrusive visual presence than the reflective white roof that the panels now cover.

Energy Use Reduction
SPG’s consultants work with the building owner, architect, or developer to assess total energy usage of a facility. They identify areas where energy can be conserved before the PV system is introduced, then design the appropriately sized solar system to cover the actual energy demand.

Demand-side conservation may include:

All heating and cooling usage
Updated fluorescent lighting, and lighting controls that respond to occupancy
Computerized motor controls and soft starts for electrical devices
Insulation qualities, including insulated glass, double paned windows and coated windows for low UV and heat gain
Painting a flat roof white. White-painted roofs reflect sunlight and heat, and reduce the energy load. A white roof keeps the building cooler, saving energy needed for air conditioning.