I’m of the opinion that if a roof can’t support a few extra hundred pounds, the entire house is compromised.
Wet snow can add thousands of pounds of weight to a roof, so a solar panel (which can actually deflect a lot of heavy snow), really should be no problem at all.
That said, it’s incredibly disappointing that home insurance companies are causing difficulties for people who want to adopt greener tech.
Funny thing is, CAA (the company mentioned in the article) will insure e-bikes without any issues (a fire risk in any home), but state that the risks of these solar panels would be problematic? I think they’re just picking and choosing what they want to cover, without any evidence supporting their position.
I went to pick up an order at Walmart not too long ago (months), and the guy who brought it out was chatting me up. Apparently, he’s a software engineer, but could only find work at Walmart.
These are grim times.