We received approval from our community association (homeowner's
association) before we installed our panels. Generally, these boards try to keep the overall look of
the neighborhood within certain "Architectural Guidelines." In our
neighborhood, you really need their approval to go forward with most
changes to the exterior of your house. Our board is respectful,
competent and most importantly - forward thinking! They knew this was
going to be a "precedent setting" approval and wanted to learn as much
about the process as possible.
There is a Maryland law
that states that a homeowners association cannot reasonably prohibit
someone in Maryland from installing a Solar PV system. Ironically, when
you apply for a grant to the Maryland Energy Administration,
you need to provide the appropriate documentation stating your
homeowner's association has approved the project. I suppose we could have gone ahead and installed the panels without the board's approval, but we wanted to help change the mindset in our neighborhood. It's worked - there are now five houses in our neighborhood with solar panels! Seven years before our installation an application similar to ours was denied. I'm happy to say that the family re-applied, was approved, and now has a PV system on their roof as well. So, I'm happy we took the time to go through the process. If you've heard that panels will be disapproved in your community - test the system. Times have changed.
When going
before the board, you generally will need to provide the basic
information about this project. Since it's not really "off the shelf
shopping" when choosing a PV system, you probaby will accumulate a lot
of the appropriate documentation along the way. The following is our
list:
- - Completed application signed by ourselves and four of our neighbors
- - Make and model of the solar panels and other equipment
- - Panel Manufacturers marketing brochure (non-technical)
- - Drawing of our house, from above, with rectangles where the panels will go (we generated ours from 3D Home Architect Plus)
- - Written description of the materials and what the panels are made of
- - Photos of previous installations (provided by our contractor)
These are the types of questions that you might be asked:
- Can you bring in a sample of the materials?
- Where will the panels be located?
- What are the panels constructed of?
- Will all pipe work be concealed?
- What color is the trim on the panel?
- How are the panels mounted to the house?
- How much electricity will they generate?
- And how much are you paying?
- So how many grants, rebates and incentives are you getting?
- Is there a different spot where the panels can be located, like in the back of the house?
- Where will the inverter be located?
Good Luck with your approval.