Solar in San Jose has the valley sun that San Francisco often lacks, and the roof still has to deserve the array. Ranch hips are broad and simple, which is a gift, until attic vents, a swamp of pipes, or a west dormer breaks the plane. Atrium houses are the opposite: chopped roofs, clerestories, and trees planted to shade the glass. Those trees may also shade the only south plane. Summer production can be strong and still collapse on a roof that is too tired to touch. Heat-baked composition should be judged before anyone anchors through it. A layout that ignores shade from street trees is a drawing of a different block.
Match the attachment to the surface. Composition on a ranch is not tile, and tile is not a flat addition over a garage. The west plane produces late, which lines up with the hour these houses are hottest, and it also takes the worst thermal stress. A north plane under a neighbor's redwood or a mature ash may never earn its place. Ask how shade moves in the afternoon, not only at noon. Dust and pollen from the valley and from leftover orchard trees film the glass. Production will dip in the wet weeks and surge on the long clear ones. The roof under the layout has to be sound enough to carry it.
The electrical path is part of the fit. Tract panels in garages are often crowded with the cooling equipment already on them. Conduit should get from the roof to that garage without a careless run across the stucco. Shutoffs need a reachable wall. When the roof needs work later, the array has to come off, so the layout should admit that day. Atrium homes with radiant heat still need a normal electrical conversation. Do not assume the pretty glass means the roof is simple. Ask which planes stay clear from late morning through the hot afternoon.
Call with the roof shape, the trees, and whether the house is a broad ranch or a chopped atrium. Mention soft decking, curled shingles, or a panel that is already full. The question is production and roof condition under San Jose sun.
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