Solar on an Indy rental

[Adam Sankowski]

Ok, random one here... anyone in Indy ever put solar panels on your rentals?  Now before you tear into my crazy idea... I know, I know... I'm sure there a ton of reasons why you don't want to do this... but I'm an environmentalist and its been killing me that I have roof tops that aren't being used for solar, so this isn't  purely about profit... but I digress.  

So, anyone do this successful and have any suggestions about tax credits/ selling energy credits/ companies to use?  I'm not really interested in leasing, more interested in a purchase.  Just thought I'd throw it out here...  Thanks for your time! 

[Steve K.]

Originally posted by @Adam Sankowski:

Hey thanks so much for the info @Steve K. and @Jacob D Adamczak !  Steve your right that MA has amazing solar benefits.  I have solar hot water on my house but not electric because we have a slate roof (the solar hot water fit onto a smaller flat roof on the back).  I've been told by multiple companies that they won't drill into slate to install as you no matter how well they do it your roof will leak after.  Have you heard of any products that can install on slate?  Its tough cause I want to do solar so bad but also this slate roof has been on here for 150 years and would last another 150 so I'm hesitant to replace.  Plus for some weird reason in MA slate roofs are worth way more to have on a house.  Thoughts? 

 The way we work with a slate roof is simply to remove all the slate from the section of roof where the solar array will go, then tie in to the trusses/rafters with standoffs and either use a rolled asphalt surface or a rubber membrane to seal the portion of roof under the panels, then replace some of the slate around the edges so it's a seamless transition from slate to solar. It adds a little expense but not a ton. I agree that it's a shame to remove slate though because it's such a beautiful roof surface that is extremely resistant to the rough New England weather: wind, hail, freeze/thaw cycles and even fire resistant which is why it is valuable (that and a new slate roof is ridiculously expensive). It ends up being a judgement call on the homeowner end whether they want to remove the slate or not. Using all black panels it actually looks great on a black slate roof, but it's a tough call to tear off perfectly good slate. Maybe if the array was going on the back side of the house, the slate was damaged anyway, etc. I would but if it were my home under most circumstances I probably wouldn't. If your house is 150 years old it may not be the best candidate for adding a solar array anyway (potential issues would be a tied rafter system that may need reinforcement, a dated electrical system needing an upgrade, historical status, etc.). Love those old New England houses though.

 You should look into a ground mount if you have the land, or one of the great community solar programs Mass has where you get the benefit of ownership as well as cost savings from buying into a large scale array. Another benefit is if you move you can take the panels with you (virtually, in the form of transferring your virtual net meter), as long as you stay within the county, or you can always sell your share if you move out of the county: 

https://news.energysage.com/massachusetts-communit...