Outcomes after an inspection and a solar decision
An inspection report followed by a solar question usually points to one of four decisions. We write this page for buyers, sellers and homeowners who have a report in hand and a rooftop proposal or a community solar offer to weigh. An inspection does not decide whether solar suits a house, because it records the roof, the electrical panel and the wiring as they were on the day of the visit. It shows which items must be dealt with before anything is fixed to the roof, and which can wait. The result a reader reaches depends on the order in which those items are handled, so this page follows that order. None of the four results is a score for the house or a verdict on the people who sell solar.
Watching an installation before judging a quote
The clip shows a person checking an installation on a commercial building. It is stock footage, not a record of a specific project. It is here because a documented installation goes through a check of this kind before it is switched on. A reader weighing a quote can ask which checks will be written down and who will sign them. The footage is used under the Pexels licence and is shown for illustration only.
Working through the questions in a fixed order
A reader who wants one clear answer should ask the same questions every time, and in the same order. The roof and the electrical items come first, because they decide what an array could rest on and connect to. Shade, orientation and tenure come next, since they decide whether rooftop solar is worth weighing at all. Working in the wrong order can leave a reader comparing offers for a roof that cannot take them. The steps below keep that sequence in view.
- Read the roof and electrical items in the report, and note any the inspector flagged as needing attention now or as near the end of its working life.
- Decide whether any flagged item has to be repaired before a rooftop array could be fitted safely.
- Check shade, roof orientation and whether the house is owned or rented, because a rented roof rules out most rooftop choices.
- If a rooftop array is possible, weigh it against a community solar subscription, which does not need a roof of the reader's own.
- If neither path is ready, wait, and write down what would have to change first.
The building and the paperwork
The four results and what leads to each
Going ahead with rooftop solar is the result when the roof is sound, the electrical panel and wiring are in a state an installer can work with, the house is owned, and shade and orientation leave enough usable sunlight. A reader who reaches it has not finished checking. The installer should confirm in writing each item the inspection flagged, because the report describes the house only as it was on the day of the visit. Ask which flagged items the design depends on and how each will be checked before work begins. Read the proposal against the report, not against the brochure.
Repairing first is the result when the report names a roof, panel or wiring item that a new array would rest on or connect to. The sensible move is to fix that item and return to the solar question with a clean report. Adding an array to a failing roof or panel does not make the old problem go away. It moves the cost of that problem inside the new system, where it is harder to see. Ask any installer whether the flagged item is included in the quote or left out of it. Waiting for the repair is the order the work should follow, not a failure of the plan.
Choosing community solar is the result when the house cannot take rooftop panels, because the roof is shaded or near the end of its life, the home is rented, or the reader expects to move soon. A community solar subscription buys a share of an array built elsewhere, so it needs no roof of the reader's own. Before signing, read how the credit is passed on and whether the price is fixed or changes over time. Check what happens if the array stops producing and whether the contract can be ended without a penalty. A subscription is a long commitment, so read the terms in full before any deposit is paid.
Waiting is the result when a roof or electrical item needs attention soon but not yet, or when plans may change within a short time. It is a decision with a reason attached, and it should be written down as one. Note what would change the answer, such as a roof replacement already on the calendar, a planned move or a repair that has been quoted. Those changes are the signal to return to the report and run the sequence again. A reader who waits with a written list of conditions is better placed than one who waits with no plan.
When your report does not fit one of these
Some reports raise a question that sits between two of these results, or concern an item none of them covers. Send that question through our Ask A Question page and name the item and the page of the report it comes from. A question that names its item can be answered about that item rather than about the whole house. The page is the only contact route on this site. Include only what is needed to answer the question, such as the page and the wording in the report.