Observations and Lessons Learned in Residential Roofing Integrated Photovoltaics

The data file includes field observations of residential roofing integrated photovoltaics installation that happened between July 2021 and June 2022 in California. There are 21 observations - 2 in the re-roofing category and 19 in the new construction category.
The file includes two time and motion forms (Re-Roofing & New Construction) we used to capture the time it takes for each activity in the rooftop solar and electrical installation process. You will see the duration for detailed steps along with activities that are included for total installation time for the paper.

There are three parts to the time and motion form - Part 1 has project and crew characteristics, product information, and inspection and permitting data and can be filled before the installation. Part 2 has the actual installation time stamps and related notes. Part 3 has the crew information and can be filled on-site or off-site, but this section is optional.

The re-roofing form has pre-solar activities and gutters and vents section in Part 2 of the form, whereas new construction form includes a section for capturing the time it took for rough wiring. The re-roofing form does not include rough wiring but instead includes the final electrical wiring process. These are the key differences in both the forms. Each day/step/installation activity needs to include the crew break time as they happen and there is space available to capture the crew breaks duration.

In Table 1 below, the different terms used in the time and motion form are defined and their corresponding unit of measurement stated. We also highlight the optional sections.

The data is captured in total mins, total hours, person mins, person hours.
You can use this form or make edits to the form to recreate the study or make your own observations.

The data herein was reviewed but may not be comprehensive.

NREL invites questions and inputs to improve the data, including to:
- Correct erroneous information
- Fill in missing/updated information
- Clarifications on data and variables

Updated information may be submitted to Sushmita Jena at sushmita.jena@nrel.gov.