A lot goes into the preparation of a solar panel installation. You have to get an installer to come out to your house, after that there is a lot of paperwork to fill out. But what most people fail to recognize is that there is also some work they have to do to get their house ready to have your solar panels installed.

Getting Your House Ready To Go Solar

Now that you are ready to install your solar panels, you may be unsure if you should be doing in the in-between phase. More than likely you are going to want to call your installer to come put the panels up right away, but you aren’t sure if you are going to need to take any steps before doing so. Yes, there are quite a few steps that you should take .  

Getting the Permits

Every city and state has their own special requirements that they have when they get permits. One thing that you will want to be sure to do is research all of the requirements that you will need to take to procure a permit before you install anything.

If you don’t get the correct permits, the state or city will have the authorization to request the immediate removal of solar panels. The things like building permits for solar panel installation, electrical permits to wire panels, or bother, often require documents for installing solar. You will want to make sure that you get these permits long before you want to install your panels, because it could take weeks to months before they are installed.

You’ll want to talk to your solar company about these permits before you get them yourself, as they will often tale care of getting these permits for you, which includes the cost. Most of the time the installer works the cost of the permits into the cost of the panels.

You’ll want to check to see if your community has a homeowner’s association, as any panels you will also need to make sure that they are improved by them.

Make Sure You Get Enough Power Production

When you review your past energy bills to make sure that you produce enough energy with the system it is an extremely important step that you will need to take before you finalize your solar panel design.

If you don’t get enough panels, you will either pay a whole lot for your electricity (if you’re on the grid) otherwise you won’t any electricity (if you’re off-grid). A good thing for you to figure out if your annual kilowatt hours to compare that to the system that you’re interested in, this way you order it to make sure that your house will get plenty of energy.  

Roof Inspections

The most important step is to get your roof ready. The very first thing that you will need to do is decide what repairs or replacements that your roof will need. You should keep in mind the last longer than their warranty.

One thing that you will need consider how old your roof is, If you will need to replaces your roof in the next 25 years, you will want to replace the roof before the installation. If you have to uninstall and re-install your panels isn’t ideal so you will want to make sure that your roof is an ideal condition before you lock any solar panels down and it will end up costing you a lot more.

You will also want to asses your roofs age, the space that is on the roof and if you should replaces your roof tiles all together. You will also need to consider what your is made of. You will want to avoid slate and cedar shingles. If your roof materials are on the weaker side, such as Spanish tiles, you will most likely want to replace it completely with more durable materials that will last just as long as your panels will.

If you have any of those you will want to be sure that you replace your roof with material that is better suited for solar panels and isn’t as fragile and is more suited for the panels to be installed on.

If your roof has any potential obstructions. If you notice a tree is creating a lot of shade on your roof, you will want to try trimming the tree back to make sure that it won’t decrease the efficiency of your system. You should figure out exactly where on your roof and you’ll want your panels and then you will want to look out for any potential obstructions or any other issues that are in the area and you will need to make sure that your roof is solid and your panels run smoothly.  

A solar roof option is solar shingles. These solar shingles will replace your roof shingles. There are a few different solar shingle options besides Tesla and their solar shingles are just as good.

You will want to consider how much space that your roof has, this way you can figure out if you can fit all of the solar panels that you will need on your rooftop. If you’re not able to you should probably consider a ground-mounted solar system.

Your roof direction

One thing that you will need to figure out is the direction your roof is facing. If your roof is a south facing roof, you will get the most out of the solar panels. But if it’s facing north, you will get the least out of your solar and you should consider getting a ground-mount.

Electrical upgrade 

One thing that you will need to be sure of that your electrical system is updated. If you’re is really old, the installer may ask you to completely replace your system. Having an old and outdated electrical system may possible cause your solar system not to function correctly, or cause it to stop working completely.