Robert Miller has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since October of 2017, when the roof and the solar array were bought on the same day. The roof was finished that December and the array the following February.
2,400 square feet, with ice shield at the eaves
A single layer of old shingles came off to the sheathing and left with the dumpster. GAF deck protection went over the exposed sheathing and ice shield up from the gutter edges, then a GAF Timberline HDZ system with a 50-year warranty, aluminum drip edge along 233 feet of rakes and eaves, and a ridge vent along the peak. The ice shield earns its place on any roof in New Jersey, and rather more on one that is about to spend twenty-five years underneath a solar array: the last place anyone wants to trace a leak is beneath a panel.
20 panels and 7.3 kW
Twenty LG 365 watt panels came to 7.3 kW on QuickMount flashed mounts, finished on 5 February 2018. Each panel has its own Enphase IQ6PLUS microinverter rather than a shared central inverter, so a panel in shade, or one with a fault, takes only itself out of the day’s production and the rest of the roof carries on. JCP&L is the utility and the first year was designed for about 8,621 kWh.
Why the roof went first
Two months separated the two jobs, and the order was the point rather than the delay. An array is bolted down for twenty-five years and more, so shingles near the end of their life underneath one turn into a second job later: panels off, roof on, panels back. Buying both in one conversation settled that in advance. The panels went onto a roof ten weeks old, and the roof under this array should not need touching again while the array is on it.
Project Facts
- Location
- Hazlet, NJ
- Services
- Roofing Installation, Solar Critter Guard, Solar Panel Installation
- Client since
- October 2017
Solar
- Panels
- LG Model # 365Q1C-A5/40mm
- Panels
- 20
- System size
- 7.30 kW
- Inverter
- EnPhase IQ6PLUS-72-2-US Micro-Single
- Mounting system
- QuickMount
- Estimated first-year production
- 8,621 kWh
- Share of the home's electricity
- 96%
- Electric utility
- JCP&L
- Critter guard fitted
- 130 ft
Roof
- System
- GAF Timberline Lifetime Roofing System
- Area replaced
- 2,400 sq ft
- Warranty
- 50 years
Questions from Hazlet homeowners
SolarWhat should a Hazlet homeowner look for in a solar company?
One that can design, permit, interconnect, install, commission, monitor and service the system, and explain the structure accurately. That means twelve months of real usage, a realistic production model, correct kW and kWh arithmetic, orientation and shading, structural capacity, the rooftop code requirements, the electrical articles for photovoltaic systems and grid interconnection, rapid shutdown, manufacturer installation instructions, utility interconnection and net metering, incentive registration, roof age and condition, penetration and waterproofing detail, the panel, inverter, mounting and workmanship warranties, monitoring, and service after the installation. The question worth asking is not who quoted least, but which company has designed the best long-term system for the house and will still be able to support it years from now.
RoofingWhat is roof flashing?
Sheet material used at transitions and penetrations to direct water away from the joints — chimneys, walls, valleys, skylights, pipes and roof-to-roof transitions. A great many roof leaks start at flashing rather than in the field of the roof, which is why the detailing matters more than the brand of shingle above it.
SolarDoes solar eliminate the electric bill completely?
Not necessarily. Solar can offset most or all of a year's energy use, and the utility can still bill customer charges, meter charges, non-bypassable charges, taxes and any net electricity purchased. What appears on the bill depends on the utility and the tariff.