Solar For a New Home or Building

Are you looking into solar for a new house or building in Los Angeles? I love talking to homeowners about integrating solar into the construction of a new residential home. Since January 2020, it became California law to have solar installed on every new home construction. Here are a few things to make sure your new site is as solar-ready as possible.

Roof type: 

Solar panels are easily installed on asphalt shingles, concrete tile, or a metal seam roof. Certain flat rooftops such as torch down and TPO (foam) also qualify.  A solar roof-top array cannot be installed on slate, shake, or clay tiles. That’s because you’ll want your roof structure to be designed with plywood, not shake.

Roof obstructions: 

One of the most challenging things I encounter when installing roof-top panels is obstructions such as dormers, skylights, chimneys or bathroom vent pipes. Solar panels will need to be installed on the most southern exposed section of your roof, so it is ideal if you can either concentrate any obstructions on the north facing side, or try to keep them in a designated section of your other available roof space. This allows you to take advantage of the sunniest parts of your roof and maximize the area that can fit panels.

Planning for a ground-mounted array? Id love to take a look at the spot you’re considering. A ground-mount will need to be located in a fairly flat area – anything with more than a 10 degree slope will diminish the production of the system. Also if bedrock is found underground, that will disqualify the installation in that area.

Electric needs: 

If you can include a chase that runs from your attic to your electrical box, this will allow the installers to avoid running wiring on the outside of your home.

Building plans and construction:

If you have your design plans already, I can take a look at your blueprints and provide advice. I can also have our electricians connect with your electricians to ensure your home is solar-ready and whether you’ll want to incorporate smart home technology and battery storage.

Already have your location? 

If you happen to be integrating solar into the construction of a new residential home and have the address or coordinates for where you plan to build, I would be happy to assess the site for sun exposure and determine the optimal location for a solar array. Please also let me know if you plan to make changes to the site, such as removing trees to improve sun exposure.