What happens when you want to remove your roof solar panels?

[madsci1016]

Thinking about adding solar DIY style, as I'm very good with electricity and power tools. I am not confident in what happens when/if it comes time to sell my house and I want to remove the solar system. If I've screwed it into my roof, how do I remove the panels and rails and not ruin the roof? Screw the screws back in to fill the holes? Will a home inspector balk at that? Anyone have knowledge / experience of removing solar to sell the home?

My DIY system would be off grid and I would not have pulled permits, hence the need to remove it during a house sale.

It's an asphalt shingle roof.

[MN Renovator]

You could take the modules and racking and leave behind the flash mounts.

If you wanted to remove the flash mounts, you'd either put flashing where the mounts were or install shingles over where the flash mounts used to be.

If I sold my house, I'd sell the house with the solar installed so I could take any incentives available for the next home and get the newest technology and a fresh warranty on the system. I don't find it to the worth the labor to remove and reinstall the system somewhere else, I expect the added value to the property would be worth leaving it in place.

[pinballlooking]

I would leave it on when you sell also. I would get permit. If your house caught fire your insurance probably not cover when they found you installed without a permit.

They have a work force dedicated to deny you your claim. They do a good job on this. If they did not, they would not keep them working. Just something to think about.

[madsci1016]

New thought is a hybrid roof/ground install. Basically tie into the fascia board along one side of the house and create a "covered walkway" of sorts down that side of the house. I can hit about 5KW of panels that way. But they would be facing due east-south-east instead of south. Any good resource to calculate the efficiency hit I 'll take because of that?

[MN Renovator]

PVwatts let's you put the details to see what you gain or lose when changing things like direction and roof angle for your location.

https://pvwatts.nrel.gov

[where2]

Originally Posted by pinballlooking

...I would get permit. If your house caught fire your insurance probably not cover when they found you installed without a permit. The insurance companies have a work force dedicated to deny you your claim. They do a good job on this. If they did not, they would not keep them working.

I've permitted a DIY system in FL. It is NOT an impossible task. My 4.4kW install passed inspection with flying colors. I'm about to draw 3-line diagrams for permits up for a second DIY system. If you need pointers, just ask. That's what this website is all about.

A 5kW system doesn't "hide" from anyone when connected to the grid. The modern smart meters are programmed to "add to your bill" even if you are exporting power to the grid. You can only get a Net Meter installed if you install a permitted generation system, and show the power company your proof of passed final inspection. My "Net Meter" keeps two tallies of power. One "delivered" and one "Net Metered". The power company calculates my bill by "Delivered kWh - Net kWh = Billable kWh".

Also keep in mind, the FL legislature has written into the FL statutes that you can install your array in the most solar efficient location on your property, not just the most inconspicuous. There are PV arrays on street facing facets of roofs in my municipality, because that is the most energy efficient face of the roof on those houses. I'm fortunate, mine faces the back of the house, and almost nobody realizes it exists aside from my neighbors who watched me slowly install it on my second floor roof.

[madsci1016]

Originally Posted by where2

. If you need pointers, just ask. That's what this website is all about.

YES that would be awesome. Any chance you are in the pan-handle? Will buy beer in trade for some advice. No one cool is ever in the pan-handle though....

Yeah wisdom from someone who has permitted DIY would be awesome. I'm an Electrical Engineer with experience in embedded design and power systems, I could design an MPPT charger let alone figure out how to use one, but I'm clueless on the bureaucracy of residential permits and inspections and trying to find resources on the internet has been daunting.

I'm aware I can't grid tie without permits and letting the power company know. I already have a off-grid (or grid interactive? Not sure on terminology) inverter/charge/transfer switch tied into several circuits in my home with 7KWhr of batteries for backup purposes. Two dip switch flips and I can disable the charger function and convert it to battery priority mode instead of grid priority mode, which means it's ready for solar. That was my option for non-permit route, as I would not be grid tied. But I'd have to buy another 13KWhr of batteries really.

So what is a 3 line diagram? Related to an electrical drawing 3 line diagram? Would I have to draw up mechanical drawings of the structure the panels would mount too? Or just how they will electrically tied together? Could you send me your permit package so I could see an example of how to do it?

Thanks.

BTW, here's some proof I'm not a total newb (just a permit newb), here's my house right now, all DIY : (never mind I can't post links yet? Well let's try this cheat)

[madsci1016]

This is post number 4, you silly anti spam rules.

[madsci1016]

Post 5 you silly system.

[madsci1016]

BTW, here's some proof I'm not a total newb (just a permit newb), here's my house right now, all DIY :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umAR...j&index=4&t=0s