The Growth of Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)

Here’s how the cost of solar permitting can be reduced in the United States.

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Solar permitting in the U.S. is notoriously complex and expensive. Permitting costs add approximately $7,000 (or $1.00 per watt) to the cost of an average residential solar energy system—a figure that represents roughly a third of the total cost of an average-sized residential solar installation. 

These expenses include the direct costs of permit applications, inspections, and interconnection fees as well as indirect costs such as physical trips for permitting and inspections, completing and submitting permit applications, and the high cost of losing customers due to lengthy approval times by government or utility bodies.

The cost and inefficiency of the current permitting system is a significant barrier to the widespread adoption of solar energy, but Building Integrated Solar (BIPV) offers an opportunity to solve many of the issues in permitting. 

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BIPV holds immense promise as a game-changer for solar deployment by seamlessly integrating solar energy generation into everyday building materials, thus improving the aesthetics and functionality of residential solar. Those same attributes can also simplify permitting. To fulfill that promise, building departments must adapt. 

BIPV has long represented a niche sector in residential solar—making up very few installations in any given year. Recently, however, GAF Energy introduced a nailable solar shingle, Timberline Solar, that is breaking through as a mass market BIPV product. 

Timberline Solar directly integrates solar energy into traditional roofing materials, making it a durable, reliable, and affordable alternative to conventional solar panels. Since its launch, GAF Energy has rapidly expanded its production capacity to meet the growing demand. 

The success of Timberline Solar signals a new era in residential solar—the shift to BIPV. This shift presents a fresh opportunity to streamline local permitting and reduce costs and approval times for solar consumers across the U.S.

Why Solar Permitting is Complex and Expensive

Solar permitting is complex and expensive largely because traditional installations involve both roofing and electrical work, requiring coordination between different trades and inspections. This dual nature of the work—where roofers handle the mounting and electricians manage the wiring—adds layers to the permitting process, often leading to delays and increased costs.

Traditional residential solar, installed on racks above an existing roof, requires extensive structural and electrical evaluations to ensure safety and compliance. The plan check process often involves review by multiple departments (electrical, structural, fire), sometimes requiring professional engineering assessments, or so-called “wet stamps.” 

This complexity is because traditional solar panels add significant weight and require penetrations through the roofing, which must be carefully managed to prevent leaks and ensure structural integrity. Furthermore, because the solar “floats” above the existing roof, during wind events it alternately acts like a wing (lifting the structure), or like a spoiler (pushing loads down onto the structure).

The Shift to Rooftop BIPV: Timberline Solar

We are beginning a significant shift from traditional solar systems to BIPV. Unlike conventional systems, BIPV products, like Timberline Solar, are the roof, fulfilling two functions—roofing and energy generation—with one product. 

As with traditional asphalt shingles, Timberline Solar is attached directly to the roof deck with roofing nails. That work is best accomplished by roofing contractors with the training and expertise to install the roof-specific aspects of an energy shingle system to ensure it’s weathertight. A trained and qualified electrical contractor connects the solar energy system to the house and the electrical utility. 

Typically, solar energy installations feature metal-framed panels mounted on racks above an existing roof. A BIPV roof must be integrated with existing valleys, ridges, hips, eaves, vents, and dormers—a job that requires an experienced roofer rather than an electrician or solar installer. The electrical and mechanical complexities of traditional solar are eliminated with BIPV roofs, which speeds up the process and saves money. 

The Need for Permitting Adaptation

As the market moves toward wider adoption of BIPV roofing, permitting and plan review must evolve in parallel. Currently, most building departments have processes based on traditional metal-framed solar panels, secured to metal racks and stand-offs, and attached to rafters. Because of their mechanical complexity, and the loads they impose on the structure, these installations often require in-depth structural reviews. 

With exposed metal frames and racking, these systems are also more complicated to ground and bond. And systems with microinverters or dc-dc converters, known as Module Level Power Electronics, add yet another step for review.

As a single layer of roofing nailed directly to the roof deck, Timberline Solar’s “structural characteristics” are identical to one layer of asphalt shingle. With no exposed metal of any kind, there is literally nothing to ground and bond on the roof. And they use no Module Level Power Electronics. 

Because BIPV roofs are simpler than traditional solar, the plan review and permitting process has the potential to be streamlined and faster. Yet, in many jurisdictions, the process has yet to catch up with these advancements. Building departments often apply the same requirements to BIPV systems as traditional solar panels, which can lead to unnecessary delays and added costs. 

This lag in regulatory adaptation threatens to slow the adoption of innovative solar technologies at a time when the industry is poised for rapid growth.

Embracing the Future of Solar with BIPV

As the industry stands on the brink of a new era with BIPV roofing, the need for updated and efficient permitting processes has never been more urgent. The current system already poses significant challenges to traditional solar installations. With BIPV set to revolutionize how we incorporate solar into buildings, these challenges could become even more pronounced unless changes are made.

The introduction of products like Timberline Solar by GAF Energy marks a milestone in the transition to a future where solar energy generation is seamlessly woven into the fabric of our homes and buildings. 

For this vision to be fully realized, plan review and permitting need to evolve. Building departments that choose to update their processes will also benefit from accelerated throughput because BIPV roofing is simpler than traditional solar. By doing so, they lower barriers to adoption, increase output, and help their communities with a more adaptable, efficient, and forward-thinking framework for the future.

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