One of the biggest advantages to going solar is a solar re-roof. Combining the two projects into one makes the solar re-roof eligible for the 26% Federal Investment Tax Credit!
This can save tens of thousands of dollars in the case of a commercial or industrial re-roof. The rule of thumb in our industry is, if your roof has less than five years of useful life left, you’re better off replacing your roof before installing solar (as the solar system will be on your roof for the next 25 years). Removing your solar panels even temporarily can be costly, so avoiding this cost by replacing your roof in advance could wind up cutting tens of thousands of dollars off of the cost of simply installing your panels now and then replacing your roof later.
We recommend replacing your roof prior to installing solar if it has 5 years or less of useful life.
If your solar installer or consultant has not asked if you have had your roof recently inspected to determine its overall health and quality before starting your project, this is a red flag.
You will want to choose a solar installer that also does roofing for this project, so you are dealing with one contractor and one warranty. At BCSC we work with a number of qualified providers that do both roofing and solar. If you have an existing relationship with a roofer you are happy with, by all means, you can continue that relationship, but you will need to ensure your roofer seals the solar penetrations to maintain the roofing workmanship warranty. As with all projects, effective communication from all parties is the key to success.
Please seek the guidance of a licensed tax professional regarding your company’s specific situation as we are not tax professionals and are not providing any tax advice.
