Paul Nicholson has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since October of 2022, when he booked a roof and a solar array together. The roof was finished on 8 February 2023 and the array a week later.
The part of the roof that needed it
Only part of this roof was replaced, and that was deliberate. A newer dimensional roof on one section of the house was sound and was left exactly where it was. The older 2,900 square feet came off instead, a single layer stripped down to the sheathing, cleaned up and carted away with the dumpster included. What went back on is a GAF Timberline HDZ system in Fox Hollow Gray with a 50-year warranty, deck protection over the exposed sheathing, aluminum drip edge along 206 feet of rakes and eaves, and a ridge vent along the peak.
41 panels and 14.97 kW
Forty-one REC 365 watt panels came to 14.97 kW on Snap-N-Rack mounting, finished on 15 February 2023. A SolarEdge SE11400H HD Wave inverter runs the array with an optimizer on every panel, so shade or a fault on one panel is handled at that panel rather than by the whole string. PSE&G is the utility and the first year was designed for about 15,525 kWh.
Why the order matters here
An array is fastened to a roof for twenty-five years and more, so worn shingles underneath it are a problem with a date already on them. Taking panels down and putting them back is a job in its own right, and doing it once is a great deal better than doing it twice. Booking both together put the array onto new shingles with the crew already scheduled, and it also meant being straight about the section of roof that did not need touching. That part is still the roof it was.
Project Facts
- Location
- Westfield, NJ
- Services
- Roofing Installation, Solar Critter Guard, Solar Panel Installation
- Client since
- October 2022
Solar
- Panels
- REC Model # REC-365NP2-Black
- Panels
- 41
- System size
- 14.97 kW
- Inverter
- SolarEdge SE11400H-US000NNC2 HD Wave
- Mounting system
- Snap-N-Rack
- Estimated first-year production
- 15,525 kWh
- Share of the home's electricity
- 100%
- Electric utility
- PSE&G
- Critter guard fitted
- 232 ft
Roof
- System
- GAF Timberline Lifetime Roofing System
- Area replaced
- 2,900 sq ft
- Warranty
- 50 years
Questions from Westfield homeowners
RoofingHow long should an asphalt shingle roof last in Westfield, NJ?
There is no single guaranteed service life. Longevity depends on the shingles, the installation, ventilation, weather exposure and maintenance. New Jersey roofs face summer heat, freezing temperatures, snow, ice, heavy rain, wind, humidity and, in some areas, coastal salt. A properly installed architectural roofing system should be judged against the manufacturer's warranty and installation requirements rather than a generic life-expectancy number.
SolarWhat does NEC Article 705 cover?
It governs electrical systems where power-production equipment such as solar runs in parallel with another source, normally the utility grid. It is what decides how the array is allowed to connect to the home's service or distribution equipment.
RoofingCan a roof warranty transfer to a new owner?
Certain warranties can, subject to that warranty's own conditions and a required notification procedure with its own time limit. It is worth knowing the process before the house goes on the market rather than during the sale, and a transferable warranty is a genuine selling point.