Solar in Chicago lives on flat roofs and bungalow ridges under lake cloud and snow. A parapet shades a roof that looked wide open from the street. A taller courtyard next door takes the afternoon. Low-slope mounts catch more uplift in lake wind than a steep gable does. The deck and the parapet flashing come before any talk of modules. If the membrane ponds today, it is not a platform yet.
One bungalow slope is often the only slope that does not face the neighbor's brick. Say which way the ridge runs and what stands to the south. A hip roof on a corner lot is a different layout from a simple gable mid-block. A parkway tree shades summer sun more than low winter sun. Do not guess; look at the slope at midday and again late in the day.
Snow lingers on a low slope that cannot shed, and an array changes where the melt sits against a parapet. That is an ice and flashing question, not an afterthought. Ask how rails are fastened into a deck that may be thin or may already be patched. Penetrations on a flat roof have to outlast the next driving rain off the lake. If pigeons or squirrels already use the roof edge, say so.
Vintage basements often hide an old panel beside earlier wiring. Say what you know about the panel without inventing a label. Inverters need moving air; a sealed attic over a bungalow is a hot closet in July. Do roof work and array work in an order that opens the membrane once. A two-flat may have more than one meter, and that fact changes the conversation.
Lead with flat roof or bungalow, shade from the parapet or the neighbor, and whether the membrane already ponds. Name a south slope only if you have actually stood where you can see it. Chicago wind and lake cloud are the site. Call the number on this page.