Frequently Asked Questions

No, most homeowners can get solar immediately without doing any roofwork ahead of time. When we do a site visit to finalize your design, we can advise if it is best to do roofwork prior to getting your solar system.

Most New Yorkers already have a Smart Meter from Con Ed, which can be upgraded for net metering with a simple software adjustment at no charge to the homeowner. If your meter is not a smart meter, we will note this during our initial site survey and coordinate with Con Edison to upgrade your meter, also at no charge.

If you own your apartment and live in a co-op or condo, your building may be eligible to get a solar system installed on the roof. You can reach out to schedule an appointment directly.

If you rent your apartment, unfortunately you cannot own your own solar system. However, there are a number of community solar programs that you can look into, which can power the energy you purchase through Con Edison. You can view that list here.

The average cost of a residential solar system on a standard one-family New York City home can range from $30,000 – $70,000 before incentives, but the cost can vary greatly for each project depending on the system size and structural needs. Luckily, NYC is one of the most incentive-rich areas in the country and can offset the cost of your installation by up to 60%. The best way to get a true assessment is to get a free solar proposal from Brooklyn SolarWorks.

How much solar your home generates is dependent on how big your system is. System size is largely dependent on a number of factors, including your roof size, available sun exposure, and available roof space. A typical, single-family residential building in Brooklyn, NY will likely have a system size of 6 kW to 10kW, enough to offset about $2,000 to $4,000 per year in energy costs, often totalling to $80,000 or more in savings over 30 years.

However, this is highly variable to each home, and the best way to find out what will work for your home is to schedule a free consultation. Our team of solar experts can use a satellite image of your home to create a free quote and design.

New York City homeowners and property owners have access to some of the strongest solar incentives in the country that can save them up to 60%. These programs significantly reduce the upfront cost of installing solar and help systems pay for themselves faster.

• 25% New York State Income Tax Credit (Max $5,000)
• 30% New York City Property Tax Abatement
• 20% New York State Historic Tax Credit
• For qualifying Commercial properties, property owners can save an additional 30% from the Federal Income Tax Credit
• Net Metering

The NYS Solar Income Tax credit allows NYC Homeowners to claim 25% of their solar installation costs (equipment plus all other installation costs), up to $5,000, as a credit on state income taxes and is typically claimed the year your system is installed.

Co-ops and condos can claim a 25% tax credit against their building’s solar investment, capped at $5,000 per person with no overall gross cap. This credit can be divided among individual shareholders or owners on a prorated basis. For example, if a 12 unit co-op has a solar project cost of $150,000, each of the 12 co-op unit owners would receive their fair share of the $37,000 as a credit against their taxable income.

The NYC Solar Property Tax Abatement returns 30% of a system’s eligible installation costs over 4 years (7.5% per year). This is 30% of the total cost, inclusive of equipment and installation costs.

For example, if a system costs $40,000, a homeowner could receive $3,000 per year for 4 years, for a total of $12,000.

For co-ops, this credit has a maximum of up to $62,500 per year in total, and is divided among individual shareholders or owners on a unit equity basis.

If you live in a qualifying historic home, you may be able to claim an additional 20% income tax credit on top of other incentives through the NYS Historic Homeownership Rehabilitation Tax Credit (HTC). This 20% HTC credit is in addition to other incentives, such as the NY State Income Tax Credit and the NYC Property Tax Abatement. This credit can be carried over indefinitely until the full credit is distributed.

Here’s an example of how it works: If a system costs $35,000, this HTC tax credit would reduce your state income taxes by $7,000.

Homes that qualify for the NYS Historic Homeownership Rehabilitation Tax Credit (HTC) must be on the National Registry Buildings Listings and also be in a Qualifying Census Tract. Your home does not need to be in a Landmarked neighborhood, though most HTC qualifying homes are.

The best way to know if your home qualifies for the NYS Historic Homeownership Rehabilitation Tax Credit (HTC) is through a free solar consultation with Brooklyn SolarWorks.

Net Metering is a billing system with Con Ed that credits customers for excess electricity they send back to the grid in the form of energy credits. Use these credits at night or in the winter when solar production is low. These are valued at the same rate as Con Ed’s $ / kWh, making them more valuable as prices increase. You can think of Net Metering like a virtual battery.

Yes – the Multifamily Affordable Housing Incentive (MAHI) is available for affordable housing properties. If your building qualifies, we can assess this for you during a consultation.

Yes – the federal government additionally offers a direct pay tax credit, which covers 30% of the installation cost.

Yes, you will still pay an electric bill after going solar although it should be significantly less. Everyone who goes solar in NYC remains connected to the grid so that your home can pull energy as needed. You’ll still pay your standard connection fees, a Customer Benefit charge, and pay for any electricity used beyond what your solar produces.

Brooklyn SolarWorks offers a pre-paid lease called the Flex Plan, which is an agreement with Brooklyn SolarWorks in which Brooklyn SolarWorks installs, owns, and maintains a solar system on your roof for 10 years while homeowners enjoy 100% of the predictable, discounted power it generates.

The Flex Plan does not have any monthly payments, and instead is a one-time payment at the start of the program. As a business, Brooklyn SolarWorks receives unique savings through financial tools like depreciation and tax benefits only available to commercial entities. When we own the system, those savings can be passed on to customers and reduce your system price. It’s a way for homeowners to access the commercial federal income tax credit for solar.

Your solar provider should send you specific instructions about how to claim them. If you’re a customer of Brooklyn SolarWorks, we will send an email from pm@brooklynsolarworks.com with the subject line: “Claiming Your 2025 Solar Tax Credit.”

Please select the category below that best matches your project. Each link provides instructions tailored specifically to that system type:

• Residential Non Historical Tax Credit
• Residential Historical Tax Credit
• Multifamily Non Historical Tax Credit
• Multifamily Historical Tax Credit
• Commercial

If you are unsure which category applies to you, feel free to reach out and we are happy to clarify.

Community Distributed Generation (CDG) is a system for solar power distribution typically used with co-ops or other large buildings that allows excess solar credits to be sent to individual residential accounts either directly onsite or offsite to another building. This is best suited for small buildings under 20 units or master-metered buildings.

Yes, but it depends on a few factors. Most solar systems only offset common area charges. The savings from these charges often get distributed to shareholders of the building. You can ask our team about community distributed generation (CDG), also known as “community solar,” as an option.

Solar systems above 50kW AC require a special review by ConEd called a Coordinated Electric System Interconnection Review (CESIR) to determine the system’s impact on the grid. This step can add an additional 60 days to a project timeline.

For qualifying commercial properties, property owners can claim an additional 30% of the solar installation costs as a credit on federal income tax liabilities. Construction or payment must begin by July 4, 2026, so it’s best to reach out for a consultation to see if your project can qualify.

A standard residential solar installation takes 1-2 days depending on the size of the project. The longest step in going solar is actually BEFORE installation during permitting, which can take six to eight weeks. This is when we coordinate with the NYC Dept of Buildings to get everything approved.

Solar installations for standard NYC residential homes often take just 1-2 days. The entire process usually takes just 2-3 months from your initial consultation to final inspection approval.

For larger co-op or small commercial projects, the installation itself often takes just 3-5 days. The entire process usually takes just 6-9 months from your initial consultation to final inspection approval.

For a standard residential home, the process of going solar can be simple. Here are the steps:

1. Discovery Call – We’ll learn about your goals, energy usage, and make an initial assessment to determine if your home is a good fit for solar.
2. Proposal Review – You’ll receive a preliminary design and cost estimate for your solar system. This is all done virtually, no site visit needed!
3. Deposit and Site Visit – Pay a $1,000 refundable deposit to proceed with a home visit. We’ll survey your roof and assess your electrical equipment to determine if any changes to your system design are needed.
4. Agreement Signing – We’ll finalize your design, financing, and the details of your project. Once this is completed, you’ll sign your Agreement and your price is locked.
5. Permit Applications – We’ll submit your permit application to the Dept of Buildings and coordinate with Con Edison to let them know you’re going solar.
6. Installation – Solar installations for standard NYC residential homes often take just 1-2 days. Our team will arrive in the morning and get your system, inverters, and monitoring set up! Once installed, you can start using solar power.
7. Inspection – Once installed, we’ll schedule inspections with the Department of Buildings (usually within 2 weeks) and notify Con Edison that your system is ready for net metering.

The short answer is: No. Solar panels do not generate energy at night. But even though solar panels don’t work at night, there are still ways to keep your home powered by the sun all day (and night) long through net metering, which works like a virtual battery to bank excess solar energy your system produces during the day for you to use at night and in the winter months.

Your roof’s warranty will not be affected by solar. The team at Brooklyn SolarWorks can arrange a site visit that includes a full roof inspection and work with a certified roofer to ensure that solar will not void your roof’s warranty.

At Brooklyn SolarWorks, our warranties and guarantees protect your solar investment.

30-Year Full System Warranty: Covers the panels, inverters, parts, roof attachments, and labor. This warranty is also transferable to another party if you decide to sell your home. All backed by SolarInsure, a third-party warranty provider, which means your warranty is protected in case anything happens to BSW.

24/7 Proactive System Monitoring: Checks for continuous production and reports underperformance. You’ll also have access to your system’s production within the inverter’s app. This monitoring powers our 10-Year Production Guarantee.

NYC’s Only 10-Year Production Guarantee: We guarantee our systems will generate at least 95% of the energy we state in your agreement, measured by our 24/7 system monitoring. If it underperforms, we’ll pay you the difference.

Have peace of mind knowing you’re always saving with solar.

Thankfully, solar systems require virtually no maintenance. There are no moving parts, so systems frequently last over 30 years without a need to replace parts. Additionally, because solar panel technology has advanced so much, there won’t be a need to replace panels any time soon.

No, you do not need to remove snow or ice from your solar panels. In fact, removing snow and ice yourself from solar panels can be unsafe and may damage the system.

Snow and ice typically naturally falls off the panels themselves due to the slope of the panels and slippery nature of the material. Additionally, the dark coloring of the panels help the snow and ice melt off relatively easily.

We get enough precipitation in NYC to keep panels clean throughout the year for maximum production. Our systems are intentionally designed to be zero maintenance.

Solar panels function well on partly cloudy days, but their output is reduced during periods of heavy rain or snow. Snow tends to slide off panels easily due to the dark coloring and sloped, slippery nature of the solar system, so snowfall usually does not disrupt solar production for prolonged periods of time. Thankfully, Net Metering credits allow your home to use your solar power on rainy or snowy days.

If your monitoring app is not updating, it is usually caused by the WiFi network or password changing after installation. The good news is that this can be reconnected easily! It is also important to note that your system will still produce power even if it is not connected to WiFi, and Con Edison billing and net metering does not rely on the monitoring system in order to register your power.

You can reconnect monitoring using this step-by-step Enphase guide.

If you use Sunny Portal, it has moved to: ennexos.sunnyportal.com. Your email address is your username. If you do not remember your password, use the “Forgot password” option to reset it.

If you have any trouble reconnecting, just let us know and we are happy to help!

The short answer for why you might not see any solar credits on your Con Ed bill is that solar credits only appear on your bill when your system makes more electricity than your home uses.

Often, your system is working as guaranteed and lowering your electricity use, but it is not making more power than your home needs. In that case, your bill goes down even if you do not see net credits building.

When your system makes extra energy (usually during Spring and Summer) the credits will show as a negative number in the “Your electricity use” column on your bill. Your total saved credits, or your “solar bank,” will show as a negative number in the “Cumulative net meter energy credit” column.

Unfortunately, obtaining permits for residential solar battery storage installations in New York City homes is not possible due to local fire and building codes. However, Net Metering operates like a virtual battery by crediting your account with credits generated from excess solar capacity from your system.

Brooklyn SolarWorks is committed to addressing these regulatory barriers and working towards making solar battery storage more accessible in New York City. All Brooklyn SolarWorks systems are built to be battery-ready once permitting opens up.

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