James and Ellen Lafargue have been Green Sun Energy Services clients since April of 2016, when the roof and the first phase of a solar array were bought on the same day. The roof was finished on 28 May 2016 and the panels a week later. A second phase followed three years after that.
4,400 square feet, stripped to the deck
A single layer of old shingles came off down to the sheathing and left with the dumpster. Deck protection went over the exposed sheathing, then a GAF Timberline HDZ system in Williamsburg Slate carrying a 50-year warranty, aluminum drip edge along 377 feet of rakes, eaves and valleys, and a ridge vent along the peak.
Phase one: 30 panels and 9.45 kW, in 2016
Thirty LG 315 watt panels came to 9.45 kW on rail-free mounting, finished on 3 June 2016, running into a SolarEdge SE7600A inverter with an optimizer on every panel and a production meter built to the ANSI accuracy standard. The array sits on the back slope at a 30-degree pitch facing east-southeast, modelled at about 88 percent of the reference case. JCP&L is the utility.
Phase two: 33 more panels and 11.06 kW, in 2019
Three years later the household came back and added a second array of thirty-three LG 335 watt panels — 11.06 kW, on its own SolarEdge SE7600H inverter. Together the two phases come to sixty-three panels and roughly 20.5 kW, which makes this one of the substantial residential systems on this site and slightly more than double what the first phase alone provided.
Why the roof made the second phase possible
This is the argument for doing the roof first, playing out over years rather than weeks. When the household decided to expand in 2019, the roof under the new panels was three years old with decades left in it. Nobody had to weigh up whether it was worth putting more panels onto shingles that were nearing the end, or whether the whole thing would have to come down again shortly afterwards. The expansion was a straightforward decision because the surface it went onto was not in question. A household that puts an array on a worn roof does not simply risk a reset later; it also loses the option to add to the system in the meantime.
Project Facts
- Location
- North Middletown, NJ
- Services
- Roofing Installation, Solar Panel Installation
- Client since
- April 2016
Solar
- Panels
- LG Model # 315N1K-G4/40mm
- Panels
- 30
- System size
- 9.45 kW
- Inverter
- SolarEdge SE7600A-US000NNR2 Inverter (12Y) W/ P320 HD Wave
- Mounting system
- QuickMount
- Estimated first-year production
- 10,577 kWh
- Share of the home's electricity
- 100%
- Electric utility
- JCP&L
Roof
- System
- GAF Timberline Lifetime Roofing System
- Area replaced
- 4,400 sq ft
- Warranty
- 50 years
We bought a new roof as well as solar panels. Everything was done as promised and as scheduled. There have been no problems and we are pleased with our decision to go solar. - James L. in Middletown, NJ | Solar Review Source: Google
Green Sun Energy Services replied
Thank you, James. A new roof and solar in two phases at the same house in North Middletown is a sequencing job as much as a construction one, because panels should never go onto a roof that is due for replacement. As promised and as scheduled is the whole aim, and no problems since is the better half of it.
Questions from North Middletown homeowners
RoofingHow long should an asphalt shingle roof last in North Middletown, 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 happens to a solar lease when the house is sold?
Most residential leases provide a process for transferring the agreement to a qualified buyer, though the requirements vary by provider. Before signing it is worth understanding how a purchaser qualifies, what the transfer involves, any fees, the buyout options, the timing, and what happens if a buyer declines to take it on.
RoofingWhy does using a complete system from one manufacturer matter to the warranty?
Because the enhanced warranties and the wind coverage generally require qualifying accessories alongside the shingles — the starter strips, the deck protection, the ridge caps and, depending on the warranty, the leak barrier or the ventilation. Buying the right shingle and substituting the accessories around it can leave the roof outside the coverage the homeowner thought was being bought.