Solar in Sioux Falls tempts people on the open edges, where the south roof is clear and the wind is also clear. That combination is the job. Uplift on the rails matters as much as a pretty slope. Older lots nearer the river may be shaded by mature trees for half the afternoon. Neither roof gets an array while the covering is lifted, brittle, or full of grit in the gutter. The roof is first. The feet are second.
Ask how the mounts are flashed and what happens when the windward edge is rebuilt later. A leak at a penetration has to belong to someone in the conversation before the rails go on. An aerial photo has not stood on the deck or opened the panel. Newer services may have room. Older houses may not. Ask what is in the panel now, and ask who owns the equipment after it is on the house. Ask who you call when the inverter is silent.
Do not turn a windy, sunny lot into a story about the meter. Shade from a chimney or a neighbor's maple still counts. Wind can work a loose foot every week. Hail can mark glass. Those are reasons to look at hardware and the covering, not reasons to invent a result. Name the modules and the inverter. If the answers are fuzzy, the slope is not the only unfinished piece. Snow and dust belong in the site look.
A claim on the roof should be finished before anyone attaches to it. Mounting through a failing edge locks the bad covering in place. Say whether the south side faces open field or a tree row. Electrical work in a finished basement is a different kind of access from an open mechanical room. Say which one you have so the scope includes the path to the panel, not only the picture of the roof.
Say the neighborhood, the age of the roof, and whether wind has lifted an edge. Mention shade. Bring the ownership questions and leave the imaginary July reading alone. If the covering is already a claim, start there. Call the number on this page.