Solar energy makes great financial sense. There are all kinds of tax credits and other financial incentives you can enjoy when you install these panels, and in many cases, homeowners can recoup their investment in just 3 years through the energy savings they accrue.
But is there anything else that can be done to improve your investment? A newly repaired, renovated roof can actually improve your return on investment. Here’s how:
Improve Your Energy Efficiency
Making repairs and renovating your roof can improve the energy efficiency of your home, which means you’ll require less energy to power your house. If you live in a hot climate or your region gets hot during the summer, air conditioning is likely one of the main ways you consume energy.
The good news? Not only do photovoltaic panels make sense in these climates because they tend to be sunnier, but solar panels can also keep your house cooler. They shade your building, reducing the total heat gain into your attic.
Additionally, roof-mounted solar panels have an air gap of a few inches between the panels and the shingle of your roof. This allows air to flow and keeps the panels and your roof cooler. You’ll require less energy to power your house.
Net Metering: Sell Extra Energy Back to the Grid
Many homeowners choose photovoltaic panels because they are good for the environment and because they can save money on energy bills. Your panels can also keep more money in your pocket through a process that utility companies refer to as “net metering.”
Net metering is an incentive that’s mutually beneficial for homeowners and the utility company, allowing both parties to benefit from grid-tied solar energy. It evens out the uneven collection of solar power throughout the year. When you produce more energy than you need, that energy can get sent back to the grid, and if there are times you don’t generate enough energy, you can draw power from the grid to stay up and running. Over time, you accumulate more energy “credits” than you use, earning back credits for your surplus power.
How does this relate to having a freshly mended roof overhead? Because a freshly repaired and restored roof is more energy-efficient, you’ll be able to use less energy and send energy credits back to the utility company, saving you even more money in the long run.
Fight Roof Aging
The industry standard for the lifespan of your solar panels is about 25 to 30 years, or sometimes as long as 35 years. The problem? The average lifespan of a roof is just 20 years.
Once your roof has been installed, that clock starts ticking, counting down to needing a roof replacement. In some cases, if your roof is past a certain age, it doesn’t always make financial sense to install solar panels on an aging roof.
Solar panels can be removed to make repairs to a roof or to install a new one, but it doesn’t make a lot of financial sense. One thing that you can do to avoid having to remove your solar panels is to repair and restore your current roof to stretch out the life of your roof. It’s like walking back the clock!
Extending Your Roof’s Lifespan to Avoid Panel Removal
Whenever your roof needs repair, your solar panels will need to be removed and then reinstalled. This might not seem like such a big deal at first, but there are all kinds of costs that are associated with removing and replacing solar photovoltaic panels.
Just what might it cost to have your solar panels removed? Here’s an approximate breakdown based on a 1,500-square-foot roof with 14 to 16 panels:
- Removing and replacing the solar panels: $2,000 to $3,000
- Removing the mounting hardware: $800
- Transporting and storing panels during repairs: $250
- Having your panels professionally cleaned: $300 to $430
This can add up quickly to almost $4,500 each time your roof needs repaired. And that’s before having to pay for the repairs themselves.
When you repair and restore your roof before installing it, you’re keeping your shingles and your roof’s infrastructure in good condition, lengthening the amount of time before this removal and reinstallation process needs to happen.
Using Roof Maxx to Restore Your Roof
Where it might cost $10,000 to replace your roof (or much, much more depending on the size of your roof), restoring your roof with Roof Maxx usually costs just 15 to 20 percent of that. If your costs are $1,500, that’s one third the cost of just having to pay to remove and reinstall your solar panels! By adding pliability and flexibility back into your shingles, you end up with a stronger roof that lasts longer.
Plus? Roof Maxx can rejuvenate the overall look of your home’s roof, improving your curb appeal—and therefore your home’s resale value too.
Ready to learn more about how a freshly renovated roof can boost your return on investment? We’re here to help. Contact us today!
