Roofing

Asphalt shingle (sometimes referred to as a comp or shingles) is the most common roofing material around and, luckily, the easiest type for solar installers to work on. Flat roofs also provide a good situation for solar panel installation, though you may have to factor in additional costs for mounting and racking equipment so that the panels can be angled towards the sun. NRG Clean Power can install panels on most roofs with concrete or ceramic Spanish tile. However, as Spanish and Clay tile are super fragile, we recommend using a process called Picture Framing.

Generally speaking, we can install solar panels on just about every roof type. The question is should you. The most common roof types are Composite Shingle and Cement Tile. These roof materials are fairly straightforward when it comes to solar installation. Depending on the mounting type, there are hooks and brackets that are installed. The two hardest roof types to install solar on are Clay/fragile tile and Wood Shake. As a general practice, solar should not be installed on a wood shake roof as it is not stable and can be a fire hazard. For Clay and Fragile tile roofs, the problem arises with the breakage of tiles and potential future leaks outside of the roof penetration areas. We recommend in these instances to use a process called picture framing to preserve your roof tiles as well as to prevent future leaks.

Picture Framing is a process where tiles are removed from the roof where the solar installation will take place and then reroofed with a composite shingle material. The resulting process resembles a picture frame. (see pictures) This enables the solar system to be installed while preserving the integrity of your roof and fragile tiles.

If your roof does not need to be replaced for another 10-15 years, then it’s a great time to consider going solar without replacing your roof.

Aging roofs can prove to be challenging and sometimes increase the chance of damage occurring during installation. The biggest challenge is that it will significantly increase your costs in the long run. When you decide to reroof, it’s costly to remove and reinstall the solar panels. If you find yourself in this situation, we recommend waiting until you are ready to lay down a new roof and coordinate the solar installation to occur at the same time.

Not sure when your roof was last replaced? One of our consultants can survey your roof and determine if it provides a good situation for solar panels. 

Since more energy will be produced if the solar panels are exposed to sunlight all day long, south-facing roofs produce the highest amount of solar energy in California. East or west facing roofs also allow solar panels to soak up a significant amount of the sun and provide enough energy to power your home. We would be happy to send someone out to evaluate your roof to see if you are a good candidate for solar panels, and it’s a FREE service we provide to our customers.

A roof with a lot of obstacles (such as roof vents or skylights) can make solar installation complicated.  This will most likely increase the price. Some roofs may have so many obstacles that we can only install a small number of panels and they won’t make much of a dent in your electric bill, we are always happy to see how your roof can handle solar panels.