Solar in Idaho has strong sun in the dry south and a list of reasons not to fantasize about the roof. Northern slopes carry snow and tree shade. Valley slopes take foothill wind, freeze-thaw, and a long cook of summer heat. The question is whether this roof can carry the array, not whether the sky looks clear from the driveway. An array is not a plan to carry the heat or the cooler.
Do not attach rails to a covering that is cooked, lifted, or pierced by a cooler curb. Ask how the feet are flashed and what happens when the roof is replaced. A photo from the air has not stood on the deck or opened the attic. Someone has to see whether the framing can carry the array in foothill wind. Say what service is already in the panel.
Name the modules and the inverter. Ask who owns the panels and who gets called when an inverter goes quiet. Put that equipment where you can reach it in winter, not in a drift or behind a locked gate. Shade from a cottonwood or a foothill tree can erase the hours a drawing assumed. Say whether the lot is bare or shaded before the rails are treated as obvious.
Wind and a cooked shingle are hardware questions about mounts and glass. They are not a script about clear afternoons. If a roof repair or a claim is open, finish the covering first so the feet are not an obstacle on a tired deck. Attachments that crowd an eave already working through freeze-thaw are a bad trade. You want flashing, framing that can carry the load, and a name for the quiet-inverter call.
Say the town, the age of the roof in plain words, and whether wind, shade, or a cooler curb is the real limit. Mention who owns the panels if they are already up, and who you call when the inverter is quiet. If the covering is tired, start there. The framing has to carry the array or the conversation is finished. Call the number on this page.
