The shape of your roof will definitely have an impact, but generally speaking, solar pays for itself in spades.

The other thing to consider is that solar is ideally tailored to your personal electricity requirements, which you won't know for sure until you've been in the house a few months (a year, for a complete picture). You're probably safe installing a smaller system (which is what you usually find on new construction), but you'll likely find it won't cover everything. If you decide to go forward now, just make sure the system is expandable down the line; this is one of many reasons you'll want microinverters as opposed to a string inverter.

Good luck!

Before you do anything new...look at what is already there. 

1. Do the existing windows allow drafts?  Upgrade existing windows first before considering new windows.  I don't think the payback is that great over existing windows that are properly maintained. 

2. Is the header serviced annually?  Change the filter monthly (there are so cheap), check all the ducts for breaks and tape them up.  Walk around the house when the heater(s) are on and check the temperatur in each room.  When you have done your homework then have a profeswsional come in.

3. Seal around the ceiling can lights on the second floor that are allowing heater air into the attic. 

4. Replace the seal around all your exterior doors.  This is really the case on the door from the garage to the house. 

Start there \Philp Anderson HDR Remodeling Berkeley CA

Solar shingles are expensive and unproven.  I recommend Sun Power photo voltaic solar.  An average home is $20,000 to $30,000 and the return on investment is 4 to 6 years on a 25 plus year system.

John,

There are options available to go solar and be completely independent of you local utility provider. However, this type of set-up (solar+storage) is much more costly than the traditional "grid-tied" system mentioned by Mr. Cook. There are significant developments in the works for the energy storage industry and speculation suggests that batteries will become more reasonably priced in the next 3-5 years or so.

Until then, many folks are opting to install a grid-tied solar panel system, which can often offset 100% of your utility bill (minus a nominal monthly interconnection fee of $5 or so). In some cases, fully offsetting your electric bill isn't possible because of shading or roof complexity. When battery storage becomes more affordable, you can add storage and truly become energy independent!

Your federal tax credit is 30% through 2016.  For your state tax credit see http://dsireusa.org/

In Louisiana you can get 30% plus 50% on a system that costs $25,000, so you would get $20,000 here!

Solar panels are a great "green" addition to any home. That said, the roof underneath the solar panels is just as important. With an asphalt roof, the homeowner is going to be removing the solar panels to replace the asphalt roof long before the solar (PV) needs to be replaced. This wise choice would be to install a lifetime aluminum energy star rated roof and attachthe PV solar to the new metal roof. When the PV needs to be replaced or removed the roof will still be in service. In fact will last for many years beyond the life of the solar panels. On a different note, if you decide to install solar be sure you have a landing area for the snow slides coming off the panels. It is a little known problem that is just coming to light by the industry. Snow slides coming off a roof with solar can cause significant damage or injury. Be sure to address this issue with your solar contractor.

Step one, if you have siding use a insulated vinyl siding with silica gel. Replace your windows with a double or triple insulated window system. And third your doors are very important. When you do replacement anything you want the doors and windows to fit the space perfectly. We can do these things and more at Jarrett Industries.

Here's the scoop:

It all depends on your usage and how much room you have for panels, but we routinely knock out 100% of our clients' electricity bills.

However, the system will almost certainly be what we call "grid-tied", meaning that you will still be connected to your utility. This is important as solar tends not to work so well at night. So what will happen is you will produce more during the day than you need, pouring the extra power back into your utility and running up a credit, essentially using the utility like a "power bank". You then pull power from the "bank" at night. Note that this may happen on a daily level, or over the year, with your system producing a net surplus some months, and using that surplus in months where production is less.

The upshot is that, while your net consumption of power from your utility over the year may be zero (or close to zero), you will still "need...power from your local power company" in order to compensate for variances in solar production.

In addition, different financing methods may work best with different production goals, due to the way your utility prices the power you use, i.e. in a tier structure, versus how your solar is financed. This is a bit more complicated, but I'd be happy to walk you through it if you want to give me a call - John Cook, (888) 603-4255.

I hope that wasn't too technical or convoluted, but I wanted to make sure you had the facts. Good luck!

Let's hear it for Elon Musk and his efforts to move the solar industry forward!  Solar shingles have lots of potential. Hopefully, Tesla and Solar City will get it right.  We used solar shingles about 15 years ago when installing a new roof and encountered some issues: 1) They were expensive! I would recommend getting a quote for both traditional PV panels versus the shingles and see what pencils out. The cost of PV has come down significantly in the last couple of years. Once you get the quote, be sure and compare the cost/efficiency/performance ratios of the two systems. 2) Maintenance can be an issue. There are more electrical connections with a roof shingle system vs a traditional PV system. More things to create potential problems. The shingles are typically installed in "strings" - where mulitple shingles work together in units.  If one shingle has a problem, the entire string "goes down". Check to see how Solar City addressses this issue: can you easily identify where the bad shingle is and be able to replace it easily?  Otherwise the efficiency of your system is compromised significantly.  Another maintenance issue is keeping all the shingles clean.  There is more work to wash down an entire roof periodically to remove dirt buildup than there is for a traditional PV system. 3) Availability: Is Tesla/Solar City providing the units in Atlanta?  It may take them some time to gear up their distribution and train people to install them properly.  Both important things to consider.

All that being said, it certainly makes sense to have your roof generate power for you!  Regardless of whether you go the traditional PV system or shingles route.  Best of luck!

While adding PV panels is a noble endeavor, it is unlikely to produce more than about one third of your annual electrical requirements.  Less than that, if you have air conditioning, even in a newly built, energy efficient home.  The financial savings, though, will continue to climb over time, as more dams and coal power are elliminated, and the cost of generation climbs steeply.  The payback time will shorten, and the lifecycle of the panels will net a return toward the rest of the power you use.

Alex, the region you are in is crucial and consider the cost vs time of recapitization