Dale Roberts has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since September of 2018, when the roof and the solar array were bought on the same day. The roof was finished on 22 December 2018 and the array in the middle of the following January.
4,800 square feet, stripped to the deck
The old shingles came off down to the sheathing and left with the dumpster. Deck protection went over the exposed sheathing, then a GAF Timberline system carrying a 50-year warranty, aluminum drip edge along 420 feet of rakes, eaves and valleys, and a ridge vent along the peak. The contract also provided for building out the skylight frames if the tear-off showed it was needed — a skylight curb is one of the things you cannot assess until the shingles around it are gone.
43 panels and 13.76 kW
Forty-three Hanwha Q.PEAK DUO panels at 320 watts each came to 13.76 kW on Ecolibrium Solar mounting, finished on 19 January 2019, running into a SolarEdge SE10000H inverter with an optimizer on every panel. PSE&G is the utility and the first year was designed for about 17,223 kWh, a little over 1,250 kWh for every kilowatt installed.
An array switched on in January
This one started producing in the weakest month of the year: short days, low sun, and whatever snow the winter brought. Anyone judging a new array by its first few weeks in January would conclude they had bought the wrong thing. The design figure is an annual one, and the shape of a year in New Jersey is that roughly two-thirds of it arrives between March and September. Cold itself is not the problem — panels are marginally more efficient in cold air than in summer heat. It is the length of the day that does it, and that corrects itself without anybody doing anything.
Why the roof went first
An array is bolted to a roof for twenty-five years and more, so shingles at the end of their life underneath one become a second job with a date already on them — panels off, roof on, panels back. Forty-three panels would make that a substantial undertaking. Finishing the roof in December and the array in January meant the panels went down onto a deck that had been stripped, seen and covered properly a few weeks earlier.
Why Hillsborough homeowners choose Green Sun Energy Services
One company designs the roof and solar system together, so there is no finger-pointing between a roofer and a solar installer.
What makes Green Sun Energy Services different
- Roofing: installed as a GAF Certified Roofing Contractor (#CE28608), with a GAF Timberline Lifetime Roofing System like the one on this home. On this home: a new roof over 4,800 sq ft.
- Solar: design and installation supervised by a NABCEP-certified professional (#PVA-111016-016148), with SolarEdge optimizers on every panel so each one reports its own output. On this home: a 13.76 kW solar array of 43 Hanwha Q.PEAK DUO-G5.320 panels, a SolarEdge SE10000H-US000NNC2 inverter, the Ecolibrium Solar mounting system and 152 ft of critter guard.
- Warranty: backed by a 50-year roof warranty, a 5-year roofing workmanship warranty and a 10-year solar workmanship warranty.
- Local: locally owned and operated in New Jersey since 2010, NJHIC licensed (#13VH06229000), with completed roofing projects and 27 completed solar projects across Somerset County and 92 roofing projects and 361 solar projects throughout New Jersey.
Our work in Hillsborough
Green Sun Energy Services has completed 4 roof replacements and 8 featured solar projects in Hillsborough. Hillsborough, a township in Somerset County, is served partly by JCP&L and partly by PSE&G.
Generate electricity on your roof and use it to help power your vehicle.
Thinking about a new roof, solar, or both for your Hillsborough home? Tell us about your project here or call 732-410-7818.
Power it. Protect it. Maintain it.
Project Facts
- Location
- Hillsborough, NJ
- Services
- Roofing Installation, Solar Critter Guard, Solar Panel Installation
- Client since
- September 2018
Solar
- Manufacturer & model
- Hanwha Q.PEAK DUO-G5.320
- Panels
- 43
- System size
- 13.76 kW
- Inverter
- SolarEdge SE10000H-US000NNC2
- Mounting system
- Ecolibrium Solar
- Estimated first-year production
- 17,223 kWh
- Share of the home's electricity
- 75%
- Electric utility
- PSE&G
- Critter guard fitted
- 152 ft
- Workmanship warranty
- 10 years
Roof
- System
- GAF Timberline Lifetime Roofing System
- Area replaced
- 4,800 sq ft
- Warranty
- 50 years
- Workmanship warranty
- 5 years
Questions from Hillsborough homeowners
RoofingWhat should I look for after a Hillsborough windstorm?
Look for missing or lifted shingles, exposed underlayment, bent flashing, damaged ridge caps, displaced gutters, fallen branches, and interior water stains. Do not climb onto the roof after a storm unless you are trained and properly equipped.
RoofingShould drip edge be installed on both eaves and rakes?
For a full replacement, quality practice is to install appropriate metal edge protection along both eaves and rake edges, subject to the roof system and code requirements. This creates a cleaner finished edge and helps manage wind-driven rain and runoff.
RoofingWhat is step flashing?
Step flashing consists of individual pieces of metal layered with each shingle where a sloped roof meets a vertical wall. Proper sequencing is critical because water must always lap onto the layer below.
SolarWhich electrical code applies to a solar installation?
New Jersey currently adopts the 2023 National Electrical Code. The articles that matter for solar are 690 for photovoltaic systems, 705 for sources interconnected with the grid, 706 where there is battery storage, and 750 for energy management systems where applicable.
SolarDo solar panels lose output as they age?
Modules normally lose a small amount of maximum output over time. Manufacturers publish a long-term performance warranty setting out how much of the rated output should remain after a given number of years. It is worth comparing the actual warranty curve rather than the headline number of years.