Solar in Massachusetts starts with the roof, not with a promise about the meter. A sound deck, one layer of roofing you trust, and a slope that actually sees the sun matter more than a brochure. Cape wind, Berkshire snow, and shade from mature maples are the local tests. If the roof is near the end of its life, mounting equipment on it only means the next tear-off is harder. Say the age and the material first.
Triple-deckers and tight village lots often sit in the shade of the next building by early afternoon. A chimney, a dormer, or a large oak can break the day into pieces. Coastal houses need mounts and hardware that can live with salt air and uplift. Inland houses need a plan for snow that slides off a smooth surface onto a walk or a porch roof below. None of that is a forecast of how many hours the array will work.
Flat roofs on mill blocks and low-slope porches are a different layout from a simple gable on a cape. The attachment has to respect the membrane or the shingles, the drainage, and the walkway a roof deck already uses. Historic districts and older brick town houses can limit what is visible from the street. Ask about structure before anyone talks about covering every square of the south side.
Electrical service in older Massachusetts houses is often crowded. A panel that is already full, a meter location buried behind a later addition, and knob-and-tube still live in a corner of the attic all change the path of the work. Say what you know about the service. Shading from a neighbor who plants, or from a tree you refuse to cut, belongs in the first conversation. So does access for a crew on a narrow street with no driveway.
Call with the town, the roof material, the direction the main slope faces, and what shades it. Mention snow, salt air, or a roof deck if those are part of the house. Ask how the equipment is held down and how the roof will be repaired when a later leak shows up at a mount. Do not expect a production promise from a phone call. Call the number on this page.