Massachusetts has no shortage of older homes with beautiful slate roofs. From Boston and Cambridge to communities throughout the North Shore, MetroWest and Western Massachusetts, slate remains one of the most distinctive and durable roofing materials found on New England homes.
But homeowners with slate roofs often encounter an unexpected obstacle when they decide to go solar.
Some solar installers simply won’t work on slate.
That doesn’t mean your Massachusetts home can’t have solar panels. It means you need an installation approach specifically designed for a slate roof.
Why Are Solar Panels More Difficult to Install on Slate?
Slate can last for generations, but individual slate tiles are brittle. Walking improperly on the roof, drilling in the wrong location or placing concentrated loads on a tile can cause cracking.
That’s why techniques routinely used to mount solar panels on asphalt shingles shouldn’t simply be transferred to slate.
The objective is to securely attach the solar array to the roof structure without asking the slate tiles themselves to support the system.
That’s exactly the problem Solar Slate Solutions set out to solve.
A Massachusetts-Made Solution for Slate Roof Solar
Based in Billerica, Massachusetts, Solar Slate Solutions developed the patented SlatePlate™ mounting system specifically for solar installations on slate roofs.
SlatePlate installs between existing slate courses and is designed to transfer the weight of the solar array into the structural member below rather than the slate itself.
The slate isn’t clamped or used to carry the array’s load. Instead, it remains where it belongs—as the home’s durable, weather-shedding roof covering.
That distinction can make solar practical for Massachusetts homeowners who have previously been told their slate roof was a deal breaker.
Do You Have to Remove Slate to Install Solar Panels?
Not with the SlatePlate mounting method.
The system was specifically designed so that slate doesn’t have to be removed to create each solar attachment point. The SlatePlate itself serves as flashing, while the mounting assembly anchors into the structural rafter underneath the roof.
That’s particularly important on an older Massachusetts home with a sound slate roof.
A well-maintained slate roof can commonly last 75 to 100 years or more. If the existing slate is still performing properly, removing it simply to make solar installation easier can mean sacrificing one of the home’s most valuable architectural assets.
Does Solar Slate Solutions Install the Solar Panels?
Solar Slate Solutions specializes in the part of the project that requires slate expertise.
The company manufactures SlatePlate and can install the slate mounting system or train the homeowner’s solar installer to do so. The solar company remains responsible for the panels, racking, electrical work, permitting and utility interconnection. Solar Slate Solutions
That means homeowners don’t necessarily have to abandon a solar company they already want to work with simply because that installer is uncomfortable working on slate.
Solar Slate Solutions can provide the specialized slate-roof expertise.
Proven on Massachusetts Slate Roofs
This isn’t simply a theoretical mounting system.
Solar Slate Solutions reports more than 100 completed U.S. slate-roof installations, with Massachusetts projects including Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Northampton, Easthampton, Andover, Quincy and Needham. Solar Slate Solutions
The SlatePlate has also passed a 110 MPH TAS 100(A) wind-driven-rain test conducted by Intertek without sealant, providing third-party validation of the weather-facing interface. Solar Slate Solutions notes that this test validates weather resistance rather than structural or wind-uplift capacity.
Considering Solar for Your Massachusetts Slate Roof?
If you’ve been told that your slate roof makes solar impossible—or that good slate must be removed before panels can be installed—it may be worth getting another opinion.
The first step is determining whether your particular roof is a good candidate.
Solar Slate Solutions can evaluate the condition of the slate, roof structure and proposed project and work with your solar installer to determine an appropriate mounting approach.
You don’t have to choose between keeping your slate roof and going solar. With the right mounting system and slate-roof expertise, you may be able to do both.