If you're thinking about solar panels and your roof is more than about ten years old, replace the roof first. Panels last 25 years or more; taking them off and putting them back to re-roof underneath costs thousands and voids nothing but your patience. A new roof can also be made solar-ready for very little, and a standing seam metal roof takes panels with no holes at all. Here's how roofing and solar fit together in the Lower Mainland, what to tell your roofer, and where permits and rebates stand.
Roof first, then panels
Solar panels are typically warranted for 25 years and keep producing beyond that. Architectural shingles last 20 to 30 years here, less on shaded slopes. Putting new panels on a 12-year-old shingle roof means a re-roof under the array at year 25 of the roof and year 13 of the panels, with a solar company charging to remove and reinstall the system (several thousand dollars on a typical house array) and the risk of damaged panels and broken flashings. The arithmetic almost always favours doing the roof first or at the same time.
If the roof is under about 5 years old and in good shape, go ahead with solar. Between 5 and 10 years, have a roofer assess it: a well-ventilated roof in the sun may have 20 years left, a mossy north slope may not. The when to replace your roof guide covers the signs. The panels usually go on the south, southwest or southeast slope, and that slope is usually also the roof's best-preserved one, which helps.
Which roofing works best under solar?
| Roof type | Solar fit | How panels attach |
|---|---|---|
| Standing seam metal | Best | Clamps grip the seams; zero penetrations. Clamp-and-seam combinations are tested to hold hundreds to thousands of pounds each |
| Metal shingles, exposed-fastener panels | Good | Brackets fastened through the panel into rafters with sealed, flashed mounts |
| Architectural asphalt shingles | Good, and the most common | Lag-bolted standoffs into rafters with flashed mounts; each one is a hole, properly flashed |
| Cedar shakes | Poor | Uneven surface, flammability concerns, shorter life than the panels |
| Flat roofs (torch-on, TPO, EPDM) | Good | Ballasted or attached racks on tilted frames; attachments flashed into the membrane by a roofer |
| Tile | Difficult | Tile hooks or replacement flashing tiles; fragile under foot traffic |
The standing seam advantage is real: no roof penetrations, the array can come off for maintenance without touching the roof, and the roof outlasts the panels. It's one of the reasons people choosing metal often cite solar. See the standing seam page and the metal versus shingles guide.
Making a new roof solar-ready
If solar is a possibility, even years away, tell the roofer. Cheap or free during a re-roof, expensive later:
- A heavier shingle or a metal roof on the solar slope, so it outlasts the panels.
- No vents, pipes or skylights on the solar slope. Plumbing vents can often be relocated or combined; roof vents replaced with a ridge vent. A clean rectangle is worth more panels.
- A conduit path from the roof to the electrical panel location, or at least a plan for one.
- Confirmed rafter layout and sheathing condition, documented with photos, so the solar installer can hit framing.
- Attic ventilation sized properly, because panels shade the roof and change its heat behaviour.
- Shingle manufacturer guidance on mounts followed, so the roof warranty survives the array.
Ask the roofer whether they've worked alongside solar installers; many Lower Mainland roofing companies now have a solar partner or do the flashing for the solar company's mounts.
Who flashes the mounts?
The weak point of a shingle-roof array is each mount's flashing. Solar installers do it every day and most do it well, but a roofer's workmanship warranty may exclude leaks at penetrations made by others. Ask both companies, in writing, who is responsible for a leak at a mount. The cleanest arrangement is one of three: the roofer installs the mounts and flashings during the re-roof to the solar company's layout; the solar company's mounts are inspected and accepted by the roofer; or the roof is standing seam and the question goes away.
Permits, rebates and the rules
- Building and electrical permits. Solar installation needs an electrical permit from Technical Safety BC (the installer handles it) and, in several municipalities, a building permit even though re-roofing doesn't. Mission and Richmond list solar panel installation as permit-required work. Check your municipality; see the permits guide.
- Net metering. BC Hydro's net metering program lets a residential system feed surplus power to the grid for credit; the installer applies.
- Rebates. The federal Greener Homes Grant closed to new applicants in 2024 and its loan program closed in October 2025. Provincial and utility incentives for residential solar change year to year; check BC Hydro's current residential offers before you budget rather than relying on a figure from an older article. No rebate exists for the roofing itself, apart from Mission's FireSmart rebate for Class A roofing where recommended by an assessment.
- Insurance. Tell your insurer; a rooftop array adds to the dwelling's replacement value.
The order of operations
- Roof inspection; decide whether to re-roof now.
- Solar quotes, with the array layout on the chosen slope.
- Roofing quotes with the solar layout in hand, so vents and penetrations can be moved and mounts coordinated. The quote comparison guide covers what to compare.
- Re-roof, with mounts installed or accepted by the roofer.
- Panels, permits, net metering.
If the roof needs doing, request quotes and mention solar in the details; roofers who work with solar installers will say so.
Common questions
Should I replace the roof before installing solar?
If the roof has less than 15 years left, yes. Removing and reinstalling panels to re-roof later costs thousands. Ask the roofer for a solar-ready layout: a clear south or west slope, conduit path and no vents in the panel area.
Do solar panels need a permit?
Mission and Richmond list solar panel installation as permit work, and other municipalities may too. The roof itself usually doesn't need one. Ask the building department and the installer.