What to do with these solar panels?

I bought three giant flat plate solar collectors (including pumps and heat exchangers) about 5 years ago for about $1500. They were second-hand jobbers reclaimed from the roof of a *nun-friend of mine here in Cincy. They are certainly worth their weight in copper and aluminum, but what good are they doing if they are merely acting like a junk-storing-table in my garage?

*Sr. Paula Gonzalez is a pioneer in not only the mid-west, but in the world. She built her own house in the 1980's using a barn that was slated to be razed on the campus of Mount Saint Joseph's College. She turned the barn into a genuine energy ass-kicker using friends' help over many weekends and $13k of money raised from garage sales of all the "junk" she collects.

Rather than hoist my panels 30 feet in the air to the top of my roof and start generating hot water for my luscious indulgences, I've been putting it off and tsk tsk-ing politicians and everyone else. We all have our solar aspirations, but how many of us actually have the whole kit in our garages? Probably only me...so it's time to get off my duff and conquer the obstacles.

OBSTACLES
*Aging roof-- needs replacing if these super-heavy panels are going to sit on top and not need maintenance. The asphalt shingles are built up to 3-layers now and are seriously suffering weatherization. It doesn't help that I haven't fixed my ice-dam problem (which is really an air sealing and insulation project-- see blog about homes with dormers and kneewall cavities).
*Hoisting-each panel is 3 ft x 13 ft and weighs about 150 lbs. Is it a matter of renting a scissor lift or a scaffold and waiting for a day with no wind?
*Plumbing-- the solar portion of the project is the easy part--> get panels on roof and let sun continue to shine. But what's harder than nuclear physics? Plumbing and permits and affording a new water heating tank, designing a storage system than the traditional water heater tank itself and adding in a freeze prevention system.


Which comes first?
There are several things that are more important than renewable energy. Tackling my ice-dam problem is obviously first. Why? Because the long term durability of my home depends on the integrity of my roof and my roof is suffering because I have an air leakage and insulation problem--lots of thermal bypasses for heat to escape. By starting with the air sealing and insulation, I could simultaneously improve the performance of my home's envelope, reduce the dangerous and damaging ice-dams, and reduce the heating load on my furnace. The ultimate goal being to eliminate the need for a furnace altogether.