Should You Mount Your Solar Panels on the Roof or on the Ground?

There is no wrong way to go when deciding between whether to mount your solar panels on your roof or on the ground in Twin Falls County, Idaho, or the surrounding areas. With offerings in agricultural solar, commercial solar, residential solar, and solar maintenance, we at Magic Solar know that the difference between roof mounting and ground mounting comes down to a myriad of factors that range from how much space that you have on the roof or ground, your personal preferences on how each respective install would look, surrounding wildlife or children who could accidentally damage your panels and, ultimately, how much power you can get from each installation type. Let’s explore some of the reasons why people have gone with each type of install in order to help you make the proper move.

Roof-Based Solar Panel Systems

Quite popular, indeed, roof installations look nice and neat without taking up much space. They free up your yard space compared to ground installs, carry less risk of damage from accidental interference, yet are a prime target for hail if you live in an area that is known for hail. The output in power from roof installations is typically limited by the direction which your house is facing, so this is ultimately one of the biggest factors from a financial perspective. If you’re OK with getting 50% to 80% of maximum power because it avoids some of the other risk factors mentioned, then it makes sense to do mount your solar panels on your roof.

Ground-Based Solar Panel Systems

If, however, you can afford the ground space, don’t mind how they look and don’t have any savage animals or younglings to damage your pricey panels, ground installation is certainly the way to go. Not only can you typically use more panels than you could on a roof installation, but you can also adjust the angle and position of your panels to be precisely aligned with the sun. Ground installations also keep solar panels cool and away from the hot roof of the house, which greatly increases productivity.

Whichever method that you choose, it is always advisable to protect your solar investment through regular cleaning, inspection, and repairs. Even if you didn’t buy from us, we are happy to perform all of the above for your setup! Magic Solar is a third-generation electric company that has been in business since 1973. We offer full turnkey solutions that are on time and on budget; we have the supply chain, facilities, and workforce to get any job done big or small. Contact Magic Solar for a free solar consultation today.

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Magic Solar was clear with the project with costs, timing, and execution of the project. The project was complicated. The only perceived delays were with permitting, which neither the company nor I had any control over. I would use Magic Solar again.

Our power went out at 9am yesterday we called Magic Solar and Matthew was here at 1230p to restore our power!! Thank you Joey and Matthew!!!!

Great work, love these people!!!

I had an issue with my inverter that needed attention beyond the instructions to reset the unit that the company that initially installed the system suggested.Joey & Giovanni at Magic Solar helped me figure out the issue and got my system back online in no time. They're professional, attentive to details, and made it all work. I'm thankful for their service and their professionalism.

Matt is a very professional, cheerful and respectful installer. A valuable team member for Magic Solar!

Magic Solar is a great company to do business with! Joey worked with us on an affordable project that fit into our budget. Matt ran the onsite installation and provided us a professional high quality solar system with a Tesla Powerwall. Couldn’t be more happy with the process, thanks Magic Solar!! Jim H

Magic Valley Elec. Did a great job installing our EV charger.

Just had the circuit panel replaced in preparation for our solar pannel install. Kyle and Jason were efficient, fast, and clean in completing the work. Very satisfied!!!

February 2023 Jesse came to our home well prepared with information he had already gathered on our address. He sat with us at the dining room table and patiently answered our questions, addressed our concerns, and provided us with a cost of installation of a 21 panel system. This bid also included some anticipated electrical work that would need to be done, along with a hand drawn diagram to show us what it would look like installed on the outside of the house. We had already received about 3 other companies' estimates by the time we talked with Jesse.We agreed to the plan that Jesse presented and got the order in. Installation was right on time, workers showed up at the designated dates and times. Every single person we worked with was friendly, respectful, patient, and well-qualified in their field of service.April 2024 We have now had the system for a full year, eagerly monitoring our kwh production (almost daily) to see how the system is performing, using the app on our phones. We also monitor our monthly report from Idaho Power to see if the two systems correlate. Even with the 1/1/24 Idaho Power rate increase the the non-grandfathered net-metering status, I have good news to report. In the last 12 months we have not paid a single $ for kwh usage. Indeed, we had produced 10.5 Megawatts of power over that 12 month period and ended up with a credit of 120 kwh at the end of 12 months. All we have paid is the monthly service fee from Idaho Power.Solar power has been a good investment for us. Magic Solar and Magic Electric have established themselves as our "go to" source for service. I believe you will feel the same if you give them the opportunity.

Magic Solar was an amazing team to work with. They are incredibly punctual and reliable. They communicated all processes clearly and were very clean and respectful of our space. Thank you!

Top Notch beginning to end. Answered all our questions and concerns promptly. Smooth installation and activation. We're producing power! Highly recommend for solar and/or electrical needs.

For me it is simple, my family deserves the BEST so we asked the BEST to see our investment all the way through. Billy, Lex and Beau have built an amazing solar team that did an incredible job of recognizing the seriousness in our plan to educate, equip and execute. The install team was professional, clean, quick and the end result is exactly what we asked for. We could not be any happier with the end product.Thank you Magic Solar, for taking my families solar investment seriously!

Had a great experience working with Jesse and Magic Solar. I received quotes from multiple companies and did research of all the different available panels on the market and liked that they were willing to install our preference instead of pushing a specific product. Quick and painless install by Yovani and crew and everyone was very knowledgeable and helpful every step of the way. Would highly recommend.

Magic Solar is great! They are professional and would answer any questions that I had. Each step of the process was quick and concise. The Solar team really came through for me and was able to get my system installed quickly and without any headaches. They handled all the paperwork and made getting solar power easy.

I've used Magic Valley Electric for several projects over the years and had amazing service. So when I was faced with a solar project, I naturally gave them a call. Joey was awesome. He was great to work with and when I went in their office the people were so kind - and happy! One employee even knew me by name before I ever met them. Don't consider a solar "door knocker" - call MVEs solar team and get treated right!

This was not even there solar account, was there within an hour, very courteous. Fixed the simple problem I had been waiting a week for our company to show up for, and didn't even charge me. PS don't go with Freedom Forever terrible company!

Jess was an absolute delight to work with. He was very professional and knowledgeable.The installation was perfect and the system works well.

We were very pleased that Magic Solar would tackle our project, in spite of being a long distance from our place. Several other companies did not want to take on this project. The workers were careful an efficient. They even made a special trip to town to get a seal to plug a hole on the electrical box. We would recommend their services to others.

Everything went well. Quick. Professional and as promised.

Jesse and the team at Magic Solar did an outstanding job on our solar project! We just had our first month with a 5$ Idaho Power bill and are currently banking kWh (well explained by Jesse how that process work’s). The install was smooth, quick and Yovani and Alex were a pleasure to have at our house. Very professional, competent and understanding of our schedule. The job site was cleaned up and left as it was. Highly recommend this group.Don’t be duped by other companies that promise something that they can’t deliver! Being an Idahoan it also means something to me to have a local company work on my project. It’s refreshing to support a local company. Give Jesse and his team a call and see what real solar professionals can do for you!!

Joey Richardson was very good to work with, explaining thoroughly, and anticipating my questions. The installation crew was professional and thorough, and the system is working flawlessly! A very good experience overall

Jesse paid us a home visit. We were considering adding to our existing system. He talked through all the pros and cons, never pushing, and together we concluded that additional panels were not needed. Nor batteries. He explained the Idaho Power rules which would compromise our efforts. Then he guided us through a refresher on reading Solar Edge info from our system. He was low-key, funny, informative and right on top of things. We're glad Jesse's still out there and are happy to know Magic Solar is there to help us in the future. Eric & Kathy, Eagle

Very helpful with our issue. We are glad to have them help us with our solar power system. Highly recommend.

A great experience!

Magic Solar helped me update my home's wi-fi and connect it to the solar panels. The company that installed our solar panels went out of business. Magic Solar saved the day! The Boise Manager, Jesse, came out and fixed our problem. He was professional and knowledgeable. Thank you Magic Solar!

Joey and Jesse were great to work with!! Came out to service my existing solar system. Explained everything thoroughly and gave me a quote to add batteries to my system. Would highly recommend

I had the magic team come out to my place and had them install a new solar system and I was absolutely blown away with their professionalism and attention to detail. They kept me in the loop with all the details of the job. I can’t recommend them enough. Support local and you won’t be disappointed

This job was a little unique for the team.It was completely off grid 7 miles from any power and up the mountain far enough that is was not feasible for them to return home every night.The manager, on site foreman and entire crew were professional at all times!They answered every question I asked and worked very patiently with me trying to pinch every dang penny. They took the time to teach me (the penny pincher) the things that had to be done for me to be satisfied at the completion of this job.I highly recommend Magic Solar for any of your Off Grid solar needs.FYI, They like their coffee black and it costs more if you'd like to help. 😂

I really enjoyed the experience I had with Magic Solar and their installation team. The sales rep was knowledgeable and honest. He was never pushy during the process and communicated with me every day about what was happening during installation. The install happened on schedule and only took a couple of days. They took care of every step including permits and getting Idaho Power here quickly to get us turned on!

The Magic Solar Team has always been prompt with responses and definitely goes above and beyond to help the customer understand the solar process as it can be confusing.

QUESTIONS? CALL US! 208-266-3258

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Jerome, Idaho 83338

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Should You Mount Your Solar Panels on the Roof or on the Ground?

Roof-Based Solar Panel Systems

Ground-Based Solar Panel Systems

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