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Future maintenance now has to involve removing the panels, then installing them again afterward. That's a lot of extra work (so, money). Lots of roofers hate so

Future maintenance now has to involve removing the panels, then installing them again afterward. That's a lot of extra work (so, money). Lots of roofers hate solar and won't touch it (they've worked on many roofs solar installers fucked up—talk to some). So now you need two companies involved. You'll have to take great care with the whole arrangement if you want the usual warranty you get with roof work from any decent roofing company (again, many hate solar and will be reluctant to guarantee work that has solar touching it, especially if another company has to do that part, which is often the case). The coordination effort means roofing projects are longer now. It's just not worth it once you factor in the period to recoup investment on the panels. The extra headache and risk plus long period before you're in the black anyway, just nowhere near being worth it. And all that assumes nothing goes wrong with the panels

alkonaut 3y ago
Yeah I mean a roof has a lifespan of 20-40 years, and a solar installation also has a lifespan. I certainly wouldn't install solar on a roof that I expect need any service/replacement within the coming 10 or 15 years at least. On the contrary, when a roof does need a replacement, that's when I'd perhaps consider installing solar too. If I thought I'd live more than 10 or 15 years in my house (Which I'm probably not) then I'd be investing right away. But I have already lived 10 years in it, will do max 10 more years, and the roof is also 10-15 more years since the house is 25. That makes it a non-starter for me. I'd do it if I were in the black in 5 years though. Or if I had more than one power outage lasting more than one hour a year. Luckily I don't.