One of the benefits of using us is that we are a solar and roofing company as well. Hail season in Colorado lasts from April 15 to September 15. Homeowners who have had solar panels installed are made aware that their solar systems are insured under their homeowner’s insurance. So a significant hail storm likely equates to an insurance claim.

Most hail storms aren’t severe enough to damage solar panels because solar panels were designed to be outside and stand up to the elements.  With that being approximately golf ball size hail.  It will take a very large storm to generate hail large enough that will crack or damage the panels. If that’s the case, you should have the rest of your home inspected since many other aspects of the home could likely be damaged and should be evaluated for an insurance claim.

If significant hail hits your home, reach out to us IMMEDIATELY so that we can inspect your solar panels and your roof. In the hours and days following a hail storm many roofing companies will start knocking on your door and offering you a free estimate, however, these roofing companies are NOT qualified to evaluate your solar system, and most certainly not qualified to remove and reset the panels on a new roof.

Conversely, Conscious Energy Consultants can evaluate not only the solar system, but also the state of your roof and the rest of the items that are typically included in a hail claim. Our roofing and claims department is built specifically to process your insurance claims and servicing your restoration needs including roofing, gutters, and siding.

Homeowners who go solar are provided with monitoring systems which allow them to track their energy production and some of them, such as the SolarEdge solar monitoring system provide metrics which show the environmental impact of that same amount of energy. Their metrics are pounds of carbon emissions saved and ‘equivalent trees planted’ (how much oxygen is produced when that much CO2 is saved)

The average size of a residential solar panel systems installed in the US is 5 kilowatts. The expected life expectancy of solar panels is 50 years, and the energy production is normally warrantied by the manufacturer for 25 years. 

At the one-year mark, this averaged sized system will have produce 7.94 megawatts of power saving 12,297 lbs (over 6 tons) of CO2 emissions. Multiply that by 50 years and that means: the average solar home will save over 300 tons of CO2 emissions over its lifetime.

Equivalent trees planted is 309.73 at the one-year mark, equating to about 6 acres of forest. A healthy forest has roughly 50 trees per square acre. This means that over a 50 year mark, that equates to 300 acres of forest.

While it may not be the biggest factor in your decision to invest in solar, it is a really great perk of making a massive difference in our environment and getting financially rewarded for doing so.

Most hail storms aren’t severe enough to damage solar panels because solar panels were designed to be outside and stand up to the elements.  With that being approximately golf ball size hail.  It will take a very large storm to generate hail large enough that will crack or damage the panels. If that’s the case, you should have the rest of your home inspected since many other aspects of the home could likely be damaged and should be evaluated for an insurance claim.

If significant hail hits your home, reach out to us IMMEDIATELY so that we can inspect your solar panels and your roof. In the hours and days following a hail storm many roofing companies will start knocking on your door and offering you a free estimate, however, these roofing companies are NOT qualified to evaluate your solar system, and most certainly not qualified to remove and reset the panels on a new roof.

Conversely, Conscious Energy Consultants can evaluate not only the solar system, but also the state of your roof and the rest of the items that are typically included in a hail claim. Our roofing and claims department is built specifically to process your insurance claims and servicing your restoration needs including roofing, gutters, and siding.

In short, NO. If you own your roof, then you can put solar panels on it.

However, you may still have to submit an official “architectural review form” in your application to your HOA’s Architectural Control Committee (ACC) for them to give you approval. This can be provided to them after you approve your final design. Conscious Energy Consultants will support you throughout the process of acquiring for the HOA’s official approval.

Any HOA with a covenant restriction stating that solar panels are prohibited or restricted in any way is unenforceable under Colorado law (C.R.S. 38-30-168).

Colorado law (C.R.S. 38-30-168)*

(1)(a) A covenant, restriction, or condition contained in any deed, contract, security instrument, or other instrument affecting the transfer or sale of, or any interest in, real property that effectively prohibits or restricts the installation or use of a renewable energy generation device is void and unenforceable.

Solar panels are clearly renewable energy generation device.

However, they can impose “aesthetic provisions” – as long as those provisions don’t:

(a)(I) Significantly increase the cost of the device; or
(a)(II) Significantly decrease its performance or efficiency;

Aesthetic provisions can be requested, such as painting the electrical conduit to match the house or similar cosmetic requests. As long as whatever is requested doesn’t impact the design or the production of the solar panels significantly.

*Colorado law (C.R.S. 38-30-168) is sometime referred to as “The Right to Sunshine Act.” Not to be confused with the: “Colorado Sunshine Law” which refers to the law states that all meetings of two or more members of any state public body where any public business is discussed must be open to the public.

The average size of a residential solar panel systems installed in the US is 5 kilowatts. The expected life expectancy of solar panels is 50 years, and the energy production is normally warrantied by the manufacturer for 25 years.

At the one-year mark, this averaged sized system will have produce 7.94 megawatts of power saving 12,297 lbs (over 6 tons) of CO2 emissions. Multiply that by 50 years and that means: the average solar home will save over 300 tons of CO2 emissions over its lifetime.

Equivalent trees planted is 309.73 at the one-year mark, equating to about 6 acres of forest. A healthy forest has roughly 50 trees per square acre. This means that over a 50 year mark, that equates to 300 acres of forest.

While it may not be the biggest factor in your decision to invest in solar, it is a really great perk of making a massive difference in our environment and getting financially rewarded for doing so.

Most hail storms aren’t severe enough to damage solar panels because solar panels were designed to be outside and stand up to the elements.  With that being approximately golf ball size hail.  It will take a very large storm to generate hail large enough that will crack or damage the panels. If that’s the case, you should have the rest of your home inspected since many other aspects of the home could likely be damaged and should be evaluated for an insurance claim.

If significant hail hits your home, reach out to us IMMEDIATELY so that we can inspect your solar panels and your roof. In the hours and days following a hail storm many roofing companies will start knocking on your door and offering you a free estimate, however, these roofing companies are NOT qualified to evaluate your solar system, and most certainly not qualified to remove and reset the panels on a new roof.

Conversely, Conscious Energy Consultants can evaluate not only the solar system, but also the state of your roof and the rest of the items that are typically included in a hail claim. Our roofing and claims department is built specifically to process your insurance claims and servicing your restoration needs including roofing, gutters, and siding.

Colorado is one of the best locations in the country for solar energy because of a law called “Net Metering”

Definition: Net metering is a utility billing mechanism that tracks the amount of energy a residential solar home is feeding back onto the grid versus how much energy the home is using overall. The solar energy production is tracked through a net meter and credited to the homeowner’s account.

What this means for you is that you get credit for every kilowatt of energy produced. The energy company’s grid will store the energy for you and give you credit for everything you contribute. With Net Metering, the utility company will credit that extra energy to you and apply it to your energy usage when your home uses power.

There is absolutely no loss in money or energy in this exchange, that’s why they call it NET Metering.

If at the end of the month, you have a Net Meter credit, that amount of left-over energy rolls over into the next month. The long days of summer usually create more energy and that credit stays on your account until you use them up in the shorter days of winter.  If at the end of the year, you still have a Net Meter credit, your utility will cash you out or roll the credits into the next year.

Solar panels generally require very little maintenance. They are very durable and should last around 25-30 years with no maintenance. The only maintenance you should need to perform is to wash them clean of dirt and dust two to four times a year, which you can easily do with a garden hose. This basic cleaning routine ensures that the sun can shine brightly on the panel, maximizing the amount of light available to turn into electrical power. Keep an eye out for leaves or snow falling on the panels so you can clear them away as quickly as possible.