Our backyard is small too. So we had to get roof mounted. Some homes have great exposure so they can mount on both sides of the roof, ours only has southern exposure, so options were limited. Plus there is the weight of the panels to account for. SUPPOSEDly snow is not an issue for long as the panels are supposed to be slippery enough to "self-clean". It's been a while (3 years now) but we went with SolarCity (TESLA) and leased from them so no upfront costs, they monitor, repair, etc. If your attic does not extend throughout the home, that will limit the size you can install. We have that issue due to high ceilings in the family room.