Solar in San Diego has to respect marine air, tile roofs, and a morning layer that delays the bright hours. Along the coast the sky can stay gray well into the day, then turn sharp. A little inland, the layer lifts earlier and the same size roof sees a longer clear stretch. Clay tile is everywhere, and it is a different attachment problem than a composition ranch roof. Palms, torrey pines, and two-story neighbors throw shade that moves across the best plane. Salt film settles on the glass. A layout copied from a fog-free inland valley will not describe this roof.
Put the roof first. Tile over aged underlayment should not be covered until you know the lid is sound. Walking a tile field without a plan cracks tiles and opens paths for the next wind-driven rain. Hips, vents, and skylights break up the clear area. Low-slope additions need a different approach than the main tile. A west plane toward the water may look perfect and then sit in marine haze or in afternoon salt air. Shade from a palm is not a small smudge. It can take a whole string of modules out of useful production for hours. Ask how the drawing treats shade, tile, and the hour the sun actually arrives.
Equipment placement has to survive corrosion and tight side yards. Conduit along stucco, a shutoff people can reach, and a panel that can accept the connection are part of the layout, not an afterthought. Coastal film means the glass needs a rinse more often than a dusty inland array that still gets rain. Production will swing with the marine layer and with the season. Ask what happens to the array when the tile roof needs work, because those jobs are now linked. Stay with fit, shade, and whether this roof is ready.
Call with the roof material, the shade you can already see, and how long mornings stay gray. Mention stains under the tile or a crowded electrical panel. The right conversation is production and roof condition on a San Diego lot, in real marine air.
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