1. So this raises an interesting question for all the solar salesman out there- would the solar company cover the cost of repairing this roof? Would it make a difference if it was owned or leased?
   And maybe for the insurance salesman out there- does my regular homeowner’s cover this?
   Obviously we understand that this is an insanely rare occurrence, but if this homeowner needs to shell out $30k for a new roof, that should be part of the cost/benefit analysis when choosing to install a solar system.

   • I don’t think it had anything to do with the solar panels. I have never heard of such a thing. I have had solar for a long time and no many others who have and for even longer and never heard of such a thing. It was likely an electrical issue with the way it was installed or some such. Someone will have insurance for this whether it is their homeowners or something to do with the installer.

2. The first question is to figure out the source of the fire.
   If the solar panels and related wiring were the source, and if it was third party owned and leased to the residence, the party owning the solar system likely has liability insurance coverage to protect the homeowner. It would typically be listed in the leasing documents.

3. It’s not just the roof. The inside and personal items have water damage and they can’t be in the house

4. By simply adding solar windmills on the roof, the fire could have been extinguished with the windmills.

5. Sometime squirrels cause these incidents.

6. dont let some pushy public adjuster or restoration company push his way into your house, do your homework (its your right)and find a good reputable restoration company, that will work for you, i learned the hard way

7. Glad no one was hurt

8. I have a question. This took place on Shabbos morning…. where did the pictures come from??????????

9. Items to inspect, squirrels do chew on wires,. The manufacture of the solar panel if it was a micro inverter on the back or just a regular DC DC box. Years back they had a recall on BP panels because of that fact it caused a roof fire, the modules on the back were shorting out. cheap Chinese panels will also cause this.

10. I do some sales part-time for GreenRevolution Solar. This was not our install but I want to add my perspective.

    Regarding the question about insurance, I imagine that would depend on the policy, the cause of the fire, and other fires.

    One big red flag I noticed right away is that there is no CritterGuard or netting to protect from squirrels. This is a critical safety precaution as squirrels love wires etc. GreenRevolution Solar would never install a system without critter guard. We include it at no extra charge.

    This system was not done by us so I am not familiar with what went wrong.

    I highly recommend any solar owners to see if they have a metal net surrounding the system. If not, please call your solar installer to get one put on. Even if it doesn’t cause a fire, if squirrels get to the wires they can cause a lot of damage.

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