There are a lot of variables needed to answer the question: size of roof, slope of roof, shape of roof, wind speed requirements, is a full power storage system and controls be required, or will the solar array connect to an existing battery storage system....and obviously what type of roof you are comparing it to. Standard shingles can have about a 200% price variation just in themselves.

All that being said, you can figure that installing shingles with solar arrays will certainly be more expensive than traditional shingles, even though the pricing has dropped substantially over the last 2 years and not just any roofing contractor can install the solar arrays.

One thing that you should seriously investigate would be the federal income tax credits (not just a deduction) for Residential Energy Efficient Property and improvements. Look up IRS Bulletin 2009-19; Notice 2009-41 as well as IRS Publication . I believe the tax credit could offset up to 30% of the cost of the system. When you combine the tax credit with the energy savings, most figures I have seen result in a 3-5 year payback on the investment.

If you are serious about it, I would highly recommend you contact a qualified Contractor that is trained by the manufacturer of the solar array shingles.

I would be very interested in hearing the results of your research if you dig deeper. Feel free to contact me directly.

Tip ARCHsteve if this is helpful.
Source(s):
www.irs.gov

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