Two Case Studies From Dimond Roofing Featuring Solar-Rib and PVL Solar Laminates

Dimond Roofing’s first Case Study is situated on Waiheke Island, where the

architectural designer, Claudia Lapp has designed a house in Oneroa. Claudia says, “With a need to capture the sea views on the western elevation while optimizing the passive solar aspects, a gullwing roof design provided the most desirable solution.”

She says Dimond Roofing’s Solar-Rib was chosen to accentuate the roofline with its “attractive roofing profile offering a strong linear pattern.” Solar-Rib can also be installed with Photovoltaic Laminate (PVL) solar power technology, which then enables electric power generation. Solar-Rib can also be installed without the PVL, with the laminate being added onto the profile later if desired.

The second Case Study is situated in Rangiora, and from the outset, the brief from the client was for a comfortable and spacious family home, and they wanted to exceed the building code from an environmental and performance perspective. Therefore, the homeowners requested products such as Solar-Rib, both for future-proofing and aesthetic appeal.

Dimond Roofing’s Solar-Rib profiles widely spaced ribs giving clean and pleasing lines to the roof and can also be paired with Photovoltaic Laminate (PVL) solar power technology. Photovoltaic Laminate (PVL) had previously been installed on a new shed roof on site with Solar-Rib so the option was already there to increase the potential solar power production at the property going forward.

Bringing all the sustainable features together, the design process was influenced by the Solar-Rib profile and the PVL applications, which determined many layout and flow decisions, such as the orientation of the house, with a long east-west axis enabling a large expanse of north facing roof to ensure future solar collectors would be as efficient as possible. The roof was pitched at 30 degrees for the same reason.

The 100 per cent recyclable Solar-Rib roofing choice was easy, incorporating passive design principles, facing all the living and bedrooms to the sun and adding a veranda roof to the north facing bedrooms to provide shade in summer, while allowing for winter sun. The house was also designed for in-slab heating with a highly efficient air-to-water heat pump (powered by PVL) and to make sure the entire floor slab was well insulated and isolated from the exterior with a slab thermal break.

There are many advantages in the use of Photovoltaic Laminates, over traditional glass panels, so for more information on PVL, architectural roofing and solar roofs please go to https://www.dimond.co.nz .