I think my roof is leaking

Short answer

Deal with the water inside first, then call us — don't go up on the roof, and don't have anyone else work on or around the array before we've looked at it. A leak near a solar array isn't automatically caused by the solar array, and finding out which it is matters for how it gets fixed and who covers it.

What to do right now

1. Contain the water. Bucket under the drip, move anything valuable, and if water is anywhere near electrical fixtures or an outlet, shut that circuit off at your breaker panel — or call an electrician if you're not comfortable doing that.
2. Take photos. The stain or drip inside, the ceiling or wall around it, and a photo of the roof from the ground showing where the array sits relative to the leak. These genuinely speed up the diagnosis.
3. Note when it leaks. Only during heavy rain? Only when wind is from one direction? Only during a thaw after snow? That pattern tells us a lot — a thaw-only leak, for instance, usually points at ice damming rather than a penetration.
4. Get in touch. Call us, or submit a request with the photos attached. Say clearly that it's an active leak.

Why we don't assume it's the solar

Water gets into roofs in a lot of ways, and an array on the roof is only one of them. When we come out, we're looking at all of these:

• Our mounting penetrations — the bolts that hold the array down, and the flashing over them. This is the one that's ours.
• Ice damming — very common in our region. Water backs up under shingles at the eaves because of heat loss and poor ventilation, and it has nothing to do with the array.
• Age and condition of the shingles — a roof at the end of its life will leak somewhere, and the array is often just the nearest suspect.
• Other penetrations — plumbing vents, chimneys, skylights, satellite dishes, bathroom fans.
• Flashing at valleys, walls, and step transitions — the usual culprits on any roof.

Water also travels. It can enter at one point and show up on a ceiling several feet away, which is why "the stain is under the panels" doesn't settle the question.

What happens when we come out

1. We inspect the array, the penetrations, and the surrounding roof from above.
2. If the source is one of our penetrations, we repair and re-flash it. Depending on where it is, that may mean temporarily removing a panel or two.
3. If the source is something else — ice damming, failing shingles, another penetration — we'll tell you plainly what we found and what it needs, even though that's roofing work rather than solar work.
4. If your roof is near the end of its life, we'll say so. It's usually better to plan a re-roof with the panel removal and reset built into it than to chase individual leaks. See Roof replacement with solar panels for how that works.

How fast will we get there?

Tell us it's an active leak when you contact us and we'll treat it accordingly — a leak dripping into your living room is not the same as a stain someone noticed last spring, and we don't schedule them the same way.

For non-urgent roof inspections, we're typically scheduling about two weeks out. That moves with distance, how full the schedule is, and the weather — we can't safely put someone on a roof in ice or high wind, and we won't try.

Should I call my homeowner's insurance?

If there's meaningful interior damage — soaked drywall, ruined flooring, damaged belongings — it's reasonable to open a claim for the interior repairs. But it's usually worth letting us identify the source first, because that's the fact your insurer will want and it's the one nobody can determine from inside the house. We're not insurance advisers and won't pretend to be; we'll give you a clear written description of what we found either way.

Last verified: August 2026