Condoizing solar, part 4: options for condos

As part of my research on getting a solar PV system for my San Francisco condo complex, I thought I’d look around and see what other condos have done. (I’m especially interested in condos that share roof space, which presents extra challenges.) With the whole Internet at my disposal, I expected to encounter the usual information overload. Instead, I found that very few condos have managed to go solar. Continue reading “Condoizing solar, part 4: options for condos”

Condoizing solar, part 1: getting started

Partial view of the Sierra Heights roofs. The block to the north has four houses with solar panels.

As I stood on the roof of our condo complex on a recent sunny day, I could see the roofs of several blocks to the north and east of our three buildings. We live in one of the sunnier areas in San Francisco, so perhaps it shouldn’t have surprised me to see four roofs with solar panels on one block, three on another, and three on the third. But San Francisco is unusual this way; according to the representative from a Fremont-based solar company who stood with me on the roof, more people in San Francisco than in Fremont choose solar, though Fremont is sunnier. Continue reading “Condoizing solar, part 1: getting started”