The TRA’s appeal follows increasing specification of renewable energy solutions in newbuild houses to meet energy efficiency requirements of the Building Regulations and the Code for Sustainable Homes, as well as to benefit from the government’s feed-in tariff.
David Himmons, chairman of the TRA’s publicity committee and director of Wyckham Blackwell Ltd, said questions over the strength of a roof in newbuild to take panels can be avoided if the designer speaks to the trussed manufacturer beforehand.
He said roofs today increasingly looked like "mini plantrooms" because of solar panels and other innovations.
"Trusses are very flexible and can easily accommodate these new services," he said. "But it’s not easy to adapt the truss design retrospectively.
"The loadings are not huge. However, they do need to be factored in. And where solar panels are fitted, you need to know where the fixing brackets are located and either make sure there’s a trussed rafter at that point or provide noggins to accept them."
