Solar Powering Your Community
HOA, Community Associations and Residential Solar

             Best Practices, Aesthetics & Impact on Home Values with Solar

CC&R’s

• Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions
  • The Declaration of CCR’s is a legal document that lays out the guidelines for the planned community.

• The CC&R’s are recorded in the county records in the county where the property is located and are legally binding

• In place from the beginning of the neighborhood; very difficult (almost impossible) to change

By-Laws

• An HOA is governed by a board of directors and a set of rules called bylaws.
• The bylaws govern how the HOA operates and contain the information needed to run the HOA as a business.

For example, the bylaws cover matters such as:

• How often the HOA holds meetings
• How the meetings are conducted
• The duties of the various offices of the board of directors
• How many people are on the board
• Membership voting rights
• Bylaws can be changed according to the internally-defined governance process

Planned communities are often designed

with a particular aesthetic in mind

1970’s Technology & Profiles

The time when many HOA restrictions on solar & Satellite Dishes were put into place

Modern Technology & Profiles

Time to re-think these 70’s-era

HOA restrictions on solar?

What the HOA Board Needs to

Know About Solar PV Systems

Factors that impact how a PV system works:

-Orientation (east, southeast, south, southwest, west)

-Shading (tall trees, dormers, neighbor’s house)

-Tilt (~30 degrees)

-Size

Consideration of the allowed placement

of Solar PV Panels

There is a fine balance in limiting the placement and preventing someone from being able to make the switch to green & clean energy.

• Placement on rear only (limits any home that doesn’t back up to west-south-east)
• Placement on rear and sides (offers an opportunity for financial part of solar to make sense for more homeowners)
• Placement on all roof planes (makes it even more possible for solar to make financial sense)
• In some cases, Solar is not a good fit for the home no matter the placement options

Aesthetics

• Associations seek to preserve community aesthetics by placing restrictions on solar PV system:
  – Size
  –    Placement
  –    Tilt
  –    Orientation

Examples of Best Practices for Aesthetically Pleasing Installations
–    Panels should be mounted as close to flat on the roof as possible
–    No part of the installation should be visible above the roof peak
–    Black panles, black frams and black hardware (screws) look best
–    Piping, wiring and junction boxes should be hidden

Example of Good Installs