We compared two 5 kW plants in the same Bengaluru villa community, on the same street, with the same panels and the same inverter. One is mounted flush on the roof and is shaded late in the afternoon; the other is on a raised structure over white-painted concrete. Here is the measured data, and what it does and doesn't show.
Between 1 and 26 October 2026, the raised-structure plant generated 633.0 kWh and the flush-mount plant 550.3 kWh: 15% more, and higher on all 26 days. Part of that gap is shading, because the flush plant is shaded after about 3 pm. On 10 October, before 3 pm, the raised plant generated about 10% more. The raised plant also had a steeper tilt and white-painted concrete beneath it, so the result is a combined effect, not height alone.
Raised structure
(about 127 kWh per kW)
Flush mount
(about 110 kWh per kW)
Whole month, 1–26 Oct
(82.7 kWh extra)
Before 3 pm, before shade
(10 October)
Per-kW figures use the nominal 5 kW size of each plant. At ₹7 per unit, the extra 82.7 kWh is worth about ₹579 if used at home.
Both homes are new installations in the same gated villa community, on the same street, in the same villa type. Neither had been cleaned at the time of measurement. The highlighted rows are where the plants differ.
| Item | Flush mount | Raised structure |
|---|---|---|
| System size | 5 kW | 5 kW |
| Panels | Adani 620 Wp TOPCon, bifacial | Adani 620 Wp TOPCon, bifacial |
| Inverter | Deye, same make and model | Deye, same make and model |
| Orientation | South | South |
| Tilt | About 8° | About 13° |
| Height above roof | About 100 mm | About 3.5 ft at the lower edge to 5.5 ft at the upper edge |
| Surface beneath | Puff sheet roof | Concrete with ordinary white paint (not a reflective-grade coating) |
| Shading | Shaded after about 3 pm | None |
| Location | Same gated villa community, same street, Bengaluru | |
| Data period | 1–26 October 2026 (both plants, same dates) | |
| Measured by | Inverter monitoring app (Deye): daily production, plus 5-minute power data for 10 October | |
The two plants rise and fall together day by day, including the cloudier days on 16 and 18 October and 22–25 October, which shows they experienced the same weather. The raised plant was higher on all 26 days, by between 11% and 24% (median 15%).
| Day | Flush (kWh) | Raised (kWh) | Raised vs flush |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Oct | 20.8 | 23.8 | +14.4% |
| 2 Oct | 26.1 | 29.9 | +14.6% |
| 3 Oct | 26.1 | 30.0 | +14.9% |
| 4 Oct | 25.1 | 28.5 | +13.5% |
| 5 Oct | 19.2 | 21.7 | +13.0% |
| 6 Oct | 25.4 | 29.2 | +15.0% |
| 7 Oct | 23.5 | 27.2 | +15.7% |
| 8 Oct | 25.1 | 29.3 | +16.7% |
| 9 Oct | 20.8 | 23.1 | +11.1% |
| 10 Oct | 27.1 | 31.1 | +14.8% |
| 11 Oct | 26.9 | 30.9 | +14.9% |
| 12 Oct | 25.1 | 29.1 | +15.9% |
| 13 Oct | 26.8 | 30.7 | +14.6% |
| 14 Oct | 24.5 | 27.3 | +11.4% |
| 15 Oct | 21.4 | 24.5 | +14.5% |
| 16 Oct | 10.7 | 12.1 | +13.1% |
| 17 Oct | 21.7 | 25.0 | +15.2% |
| 18 Oct | 10.4 | 12.6 | +21.2% |
| 19 Oct | 25.4 | 29.6 | +16.5% |
| 20 Oct | 22.9 | 26.7 | +16.6% |
| 21 Oct | 20.1 | 22.8 | +13.4% |
| 22 Oct | 11.9 | 14.7 | +23.5% |
| 23 Oct | 13.6 | 15.5 | +14.0% |
| 24 Oct | 12.2 | 14.2 | +16.4% |
| 25 Oct | 14.2 | 16.6 | +16.9% |
| 26 Oct | 23.3 | 26.9 | +15.5% |
| Total | 550.3 | 633.0 | +15.0% |
On 10 October we have 5-minute power data for both plants. The raised plant generated about 10% more than the flush plant until 3 pm. After 3 pm, when the flush plant is shaded, the gap widens to between 40% and 80% in each hour, though those hours produce little energy. Peak power was about 4.5 kW for the raised plant and 4.1 kW for the flush plant, both at 12:25 pm.
Computed from 5-minute readings, using only the times both plants reported. Hours with very little output are not labelled. Data for one day only.
We cannot split the 15% between these factors with this data. The best estimate for the gap without shading is the 10% measured before 3 pm on 10 October. We have not tested reflective-grade paint and make no claim about it.
We will update this page as more months of data come in.
If your roof is limited and you want more output from the same number of panels, a raised structure over a light-coloured surface is worth considering with bifacial panels, and it can also help where low obstructions shade a flush layout. It is not free: the structure costs more, needs wind-load design, and raised rows must be spaced to avoid shading each other.
Our engineers check your roof, shading and space during the free site survey and recommend the mounting approach that suits your home. To size the system itself, see our guide to choosing solar capacity.
Book a free site survey. We'll check your roof, shading and space and recommend the right structure and system size.