some background info:
i built this kampung house in my hometown somewhere in rural kedah.

it's 7km from the coastline and have lots of sunshine. probably one of the best location in malaysia for solar.


the house orientation is 320 degrees northwest. with large portion of the roof facing the west and east side.
since the location is really good for solar installation, the house was designed and built with solar in mind.


roof structure is reinforced and strengthened from the start to accommodate extra weight from solar.
this is an older plan of the roof structure but it is somewhat similar. dunno where i put the final design.

some key points integrated in the house design for solar:
* large portion of the roof facing east and west.
* orientation is tuned to face sunshine as much as possible (where it doesn't affect the orientation to nearby houses).
* low pitched roof at 13 degrees (west side) and 18 degrees (east side).
* single continuous flat roof plane to aid solar panel arrangement.
* and there's even water plumbing all the way to the roof for solar cleaning, water injection and panel cooling purposes.
* reinforcement at the roof structure to accommodate extra weight.

my current TNB bill hovers at around RM120-150 a month for the past few years.


pretty low for a house this size with 5 aircond, 2 large fridge, chest freezer and a tool workshop.
but passive cooling work wonders. in march its a school holiday and it's a really hot weather in kedah so 3 AC is working day and night.

i considered to install solar panels during the initial phases of the FIT but at that time it's about RM10k for 1kW so nearly 8 years for ROI.
now solar prices have gone down so much that it's about RM3k for 1kW.
and that RM1k rebate for 1kW system by the gov is very enticing. might just push me over the fence.