Before you get down to the nitty-gritty of actually mounting your solar collectors, take a few minutes to understand some basic essentials. Collectors are expensive, so you need to consider the basics of mounting them safely.

While you're sitting safe and snug in your home, the collectors are outside. Roof-mounted equipment has to resist wind speeds of over 100mph (with gusts of over 150mph) in many locations, and frequently stronger winds in coastal zones. Collectors aren't permeable and they aren't flexible – they're effectively like enormous, stiff sails stuck on the roof of your home, so you have to make sure they're securely attached.

Every solar collector manufacturer has their own mounting system. Some bolt the collectors straight onto the roof, some to extension legs, some to mounting racks and others to any of those choices. It is very important to purchase your collector mounts from the same company that manufactured the collectors and follow the instructions carefully.

Solar collectors are secured using mounting brackets located somewhere on the frame. There are usually four per collector and can usually be adjusted to a variety of positions before being tightly secured. The brackets are frequently L-shaped and attach to either roof or ground mounts, though you may need special brackets if you're installing adjustable legs.

What to do if no brackets are available

The worst possible situation is that your chosen collectors were made by a company that is no longer in business and no one has any old stock of the brackets. In this case, you have two choices: you can either buy different collectors or you can try to invent a method of making and attaching brackets.

Remember to only attach mounting brackets to the collector frame. It is very important to avoid damaging the absorber plate in flat-plate models, the tubes in evacuated-tube models and the pipes in any model, so be very careful if you need to drill holes.

You should check for "weep holes" in the frame as well. These are small holes that allow internal condensation to drip out of the collector and help it maintain atmospheric pressure, so make sure they are on the bottom and are not obstructed when you work out where to attach your brackets.

In most cases, you can use aluminum L-shaped brackets. If the collector has a flange or lip running around the edge, drill holes into that; if not, you'll have to carefully drill into the sides. Attach the L-brackets using stainless tech screws – galvanized attachments will rust quickly in contact with aluminum, so avoid them. Use neoprene or rubber washers if you can't get stainless steel attachments, to keep dissimilar metals separate.