Asheville NC
Solar Roof Panels
GAF Solar Roof Warranty
Manufacturing defects:
- Material defects for 25 years
- Blow-offs and wind damage for 10 years
- Defects that adversely affect solar power generation for 25 years
- Misapplication of DecoTech materials for as long as your flashing is covered
Replace Your Old Roof With a New Solar Roof
Are you considering getting a new roof? Then there’s no better time to install the groundbreaking DecoTech system, because you can install the solar energy system and replace the rest of your roof, all in one go. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits:
Reduce Electricity Bills
When you incorporate a DecoTech solar array into your new roof, you can produce your own clean energy instead of paying the sometimes exorbitant rates that utility companies charge. As more and more utility companies move to time-of-use rates and high demand charges, having your own energy produced onsite can save you thousands of dollars.
In fact, with the savings on your energy bill, your DecoTech system can pay for itself as well as the rest of your new roof.
Reduce Carbon Footprint
Having your own source of green, sustainable, emissions-free energy right at your home can greatly reduce your dependency on the grid, which may obtain energy from non-sustainable methods. Additionally, adding solar energy to your home generally makes you more conscious of your electricity usage and can help you reduce your overall consumption, further shrinking your carbon footprint – something we all need to strive for in order to protect our environment.
State & Federal Tax Incentives
When you install a new solar energy system at your home, you can then take advantage of many different solar incentives that are offered by the federal government, our state government, and even your local utility company. These incentives can be in the form of tax credits or exemptions, cash rebates, or grants.
- See North Carolina Solar Incentives
One of the biggest incentives that led to the massive recent growth in the solar industry is the Federal Investment Tax Credit, which allows you to deduct 22% of the cost of installing your solar energy system from your federal tax liability, and even allows you to roll over unused credit into the following year.
Many states also offer incentives like property tax exemptions for home value increases due to installing a solar energy system, a credit towards your state taxes, limits on solar loan terms and interest rates, rebates for solar building permits, and programs like net metering.
Net metering allows you to sell excess energy that your solar energy system produces to your local utility company to help power the grid. The utility company will install a special two-way electricity meter at your home that will measure exactly how much extra electricity you contribute to the grid, and then they will give you a credit on your account that can be applied to subsequent power bills.
Finally, many utility companies offer rebates to homeowners who install solar energy systems. They generally give cash rebates based on how many watts your system is, so rebates for larger systems can be several thousands of dollars.
By combining as many solar incentives as possible based on your location, you can save a great deal of money on installing your solar energy system – sometimes as much as 50% savings.
Free Consultation with Local Asheville Solar Installer
Ready to get started with a solar energy storage system? Contact our team of experts at Pisgah Solar today for a free consultation and price quote.
What Makes GAF Solar Roofs Different
One of the biggest differences about GAF solar systems is that GAF is primarily a roofing company – the largest roofing manufacturer in North America in fact. They purchase solar panels from companies who specialize in high-tech panels and then apply their roofing expertise to meet the industry’s best standards, whereas other solar panel systems are made by brilliant solar engineers who maybe don’t know as much about roofing technology and best practices.
Flush-to-Roof Solar Panels
A major factor that makes the DecoTech system stand out is that the solar panels are mounted flush to your roof decking instead of using the traditional solar panel method of affixing a several-inch-tall rack to the rafters and then attaching the solar panels to that rack. The low-profile look of the DecoTech system is achieved by integrating the panel frames and the rack system into an interlocking shingle-like design.
The flush-mount system also means that all wires are hidden from sight and protected from the elements, unlike with a rack system where wires are unsightly and vulnerable to damage from weather as well as animals.
On a dark-colored roof, the black finish of the DecoTech systems blends right in and is hardly noticeable, and on a lighter-colored roof, the system stands out no more than a large skylight. This means that instead of being an eyesore like some rack-mounted solar panel systems, DecoTech can actually improve your curb appeal, which increases your home value significantly.
Built To Last
GAF uses the highest quality solar panels available to ensure that they produce electricity efficiently and for a long lifespan. The unique flush mounting system protects the integrity of your roof surface better than a standard rack system, and it incorporates a heavy-duty perimeter guard in addition to flashing to protect against water leakage or pest intrusion. The design was created to be intuitive for solar installation contractors so there would be less chance of errors, and most of the system can be assembled on the ground, which means less time spent on the rooftop and less potential for damage or incorrect installation.
GAF Solar Roof Shingle FAQs
GAF’s DecoTech solar roof shingle system is designed to be installed on a clean roof deck, although it can be installed on an existing roof by simply removing the plane of the roof where the shingles will be installed.
These panels are designed to shed water like normal roof shingles because of how they interlock, and they use an advanced flashing method that keeps water and pests from getting under the super low-profile panels and into your home. A perimeter guard provides extra protection.
The DecoTech system comes with the panels, their interlocking frames, and the flashing. The system is purposely technology-agnostic so that it can be used with any type of inverter, module-level power electronics (MLPE), switches, energy management software, sensors, wiring, battery bank for power storage, or charge controller.
This is very convenient and considerate of GAF, since they primarily specialize in roofing and do not provide any of the balance of system (BOS) components listed above. This means that you are free to design the remainder of your system however you choose so that it best fits your energy needs.
What solar panels are used?
Unlike normal solar panels, these ones lie directly on the roof surface and attach to the roof deck instead of to the rafters. They can be mostly assembled on the ground so the contractor doesn’t have to spend as much time on the roof, and the interlocking frames are intuitive and easy to install.
Yes - it has been through grounding, fire, and mechanical load tests as well as uplift resistance and wind driven rain resistance testing.