Working Safely: Ladders, Roofs, Glass, and Heat

Most of the harm in a solar project is ordinary: a ladder that slipped, a roof that was damp, a pane that broke, a collector full of hot air, or a circuit that was still live in the sun. The habits here apply to almost every guide in the book. The individual guides add the hazards that belong to that one build. Read this one before any of them.

The best safety step is still to choose work you can do from the ground. The mounting-spot guide exists so a roof is a decision, not a default.

Difficulty

Level

Beginner

Time

Read it before the first workday, and again when the job changes

Skills

Stopping when the setup is wrong

Cost estimate

Free

A second person costs a favor. Gloves, eye protection, and a sound ladder are cheaper than an emergency room. Fall-arrest gear is not cheaper than staying on the ground, and it is not useful until you know how to use it.

Materials

Item	Qty	Notes
A ladder long enough for the job	1	Extension ladders need to reach about 3 feet above a roof edge if you will step off.
Gloves, eye protection, closed shoes	1 set	Glass, sheet metal, and fiberglass all cut or itch.
A second person	1	For any ladder, any glazing, and any lift of a collector.
Carbon monoxide alarms	Already in the house	Required thinking whenever you seal air or work near a flue.

Ladders

Set the base about one foot out for every four feet of height to the point where the ladder touches. That is the four-to-one angle. Both feet on firm, level ground. Do not stack it on bricks or on a sheet of plywood that can skate. The top needs something solid to bear on, not a plastic gutter.

If you will step onto a roof, the rails should extend about three feet above the edge so you have something to hold. Face the ladder. Keep your belt buckle between the rails. Do not stand on the top cap or the step above the labeled highest standing level. Do not lean sideways to reach one more screw. Climb down and move the ladder.

A second person at the base is the right setup for the first trips, for a gusty day, and for any time the ground is soft. Tool belts or a rope haul the tools. Do not climb with a pane of glass in one hand.

Roofs

Composite shingles are slick when they are wet, frosty, or dusty. Do not go up then. Wind is a reason to quit even if you are already tied off, because the materials become sails. Walk on the high side of your feet, know where the edge is, and do not step backward while you look at a phone.

With a harness you have never practiced, clipped to a questionable anchor, you can still fall and then hang. Prefer a ground measurement, a wall project, or a hired crew. If the work truly requires the roof, use equipment and anchors rated for the job, and someone who has done it.

Skylights and rotten decking are holes. Do not step on a skylight.

Glass and heat

Annealed glass breaks into large sharp pieces. Use tempered glass where a person can fall into it, and polycarbonate where a kinder failure is acceptable. Carry panes with the wind in mind. Gloves and closed shoes. Do not try to catch a falling sheet.

A collector or a batch water box left in the sun with no flow will get hot enough to burn skin and to soften the wrong plastics. Open a stagnant collector as if it contained steam, because it might. Water from a solar tank can be far above 120 degrees F. Mixing valves and relief valves are safety equipment, not accessories. Discharge pipes have to end where a scalding dump cannot hit a person.

Electricity, gas, and the air you breathe

Photovoltaic conductors stay energized in sunlight after a breaker is opened. Do not cut module leads to "see what happens." Service equipment is not a practice panel. Hire an electrician for the interconnection.

Sealing a house, running a homemade blower door, or enclosing a water heater can pull flue gas indoors. Keep carbon monoxide alarms. Do not block a combustion-air opening or a flue. Do not vent a dryer into an attic.

Old paint may contain lead. Do not sand it. Attic vermiculite may contain asbestos. Do not stir it. Spray foam fumes and fiberglass dust need ventilation, gloves, and a mask. Foam plastics are combustible and often need a thermal barrier where the code says they cannot stay bare.

Overhead lines are a hard boundary for ladders, tapes, pruning saws, and metal racks. Call the locate service before you dig.

1. Write the hazards for this specific day

   Height, glass, heat, electricity, or combustion air. A job with none of them still gets eye protection if you are cutting.

2. Set the ladder before you carry materials

   Four to one, firm base, second person, no sideways reach.

3. Decide the roof question out loud

   If the answer is "I will be careful," and the roof is steep or wet, do not go up.

4. Treat stored heat as real

   Shade or cover a collector before you service it. Expect scalding water at every solar fitting.

5. Stop for lead, vermiculite, gas, and panels

   Those four are the usual reasons to bring in a qualified person instead of pressing on.

Further reading

These links go to outside sources. This book cites them by link and does not copy their words or pictures.

• https://www.builditsolar.com/SiteSurvey/site_survey.htm
• https://www.builditsolar.com/SiteSurvey/FindingSouth.htm
• https://www.builditsolar.com/SiteSurvey/MagDecl.htm
• https://www.builditsolar.com/SiteSurvey/StepByStep.htm
• https://www.builditsolar.com/SiteSurvey/challenges.htm
• https://www.builditsolar.com/GettingStarted/GettingStarted.htm
• https://www.builditsolar.com/GettingStarted/ChoosingProjects.htm
• https://www.builditsolar.com/References/SunChartRS.htm