Would you hire a gardener if you wanted to build a house? If you needed plumbing, would you call an interior decorator? These questions may sound inane, but it’s not much different than hiring a roofer to put solar on your home. Roofers across the U.S. are looking to grab a piece of the solar pie, and they’re using dirty, hard-sell tactics to land solar jobs with unsuspecting homeowners. There is one line in particular that roofers use to position themselves as the better option: “If you choose a solar company to install your system, your roof will leak.” Not only is this type of statement patently false but it is also a gross over-simplification of what goes into a successful and safe solar installation.
A solar system is much more complicated than a simple roof job. When you go solar, you are installing a power plant on your roof! The electrical work, wiring, and PG&E interconnection are the challenging aspects of an installation, not the roof attachments. Even moderately experienced solar technicians know how to install without causing damage to the roof. Flashing, or sealing, a roof is a very common practice that many in the trades must perform. Skylights, vent pipes, and chimneys all require penetrating the roof and sealing around the holes. Installing solar involves knowledge that many contractors don’t have and there are additional steps in the process that you’ll want the company you hire for solar to know well:
A. Professional analysis to determine how much power you will need and what the financial ramifications are from an investment standpoint not to mention comparing PG&E’s complex rate structures.
B. Design and engineering that complies with building and electrical codes so that your system performs to spec and is aesthetically pleasing.
C. Permitting and familiarity with the building department in your area
The benefits as mentioned above are what you can count on when you choose a full service specialized solar installer. Save yourself a headache, choose a solar company for your solar installation and a roofer for your roofing project.
When roofers use the “choose us or your roof will leak” line, it’s a scare tactic, another high-pressure sales method to get you to sign on the line that is dotted. When roofers use that line, they are making a very broad (and false) generalization that ‘no one but us understands the process of properly sealing a roof after a penetration is made.’ If that statement were true, the solar industry would cease to exist because everyone’s house would leak after installation.
Allterra Solar prides itself on craftsmanship, engineering and product quality. All of our foremen have at least 200 installs under their belt so you can rest easy knowing that your project will be completed professionally and to specification.
At the end of the day, there is more to a solar installation that just the roof work. Any competent installer will have the materials and the know how to put solar on your roof without causing leaks. You would be hard-pressed to find a roofer that is competent with all the intricacies necessary to complete a solar installation… without outsourcing to third-party companies. Outsourcing further complicates the process and reduces the likelihood of quality work across the board.
If you need a roof, talk to a roofer.
But if you need solar, then talk to a vetted, top-rated solar company like Allterra.
Call us today at (831) 425-2608.
