Solar Roof or Simple Roof

[Raj G.]

Hi, roof of my house is very old, I was planing to replace it

but someone advised me that it's better to have solar roof, so I am confused should I go for simple roof or Solar roof,just wondering if somebody can advise in detail about pros and cons for both of them..Thanks

home is in Bayonne, NJ

[Andrew Smith]

@Raj G. The benefit of going solar at the same time as a roof replacement is that the Federal Tax Credit (currently 30%) applies to the roof as well as the solar system. In other words you receive a 30% tax credit on the solar system as well as a 30% tax credit at the least on the roof that is under the solar system (full roof 30% depends on the advice of your CPA).

Couple that with the roof now becoming a producing asset and offsetting the utility bill instead of a liability and the increase in appraised home value assuming the solar system is not leased then going solar makes a lot of sense at the same time as replacing/repairing a roof.