Has anyone here dealt with the issue of getting permission from their Home Owner's Association to install rooftop residential solar panels? What are the typical constraints on what you can and cannot install?
The HOA at the house we're considering buying requires written applications to change the exterior of properties, including things like building fences. The house has a fantastic southern facing roof on the rear of the house which would be perfect for solar panels, but I'm not sure if they're going to be down with the idea.
Any suggestions on how to approach this when I speak with them?
It used to be a heck of an educational project. These days photovoltaic is a lot more widespread so hopefully you're not the trailblazer pioneer dodging arrows.
I elected not to bother our HOA with an application because our rulebook has a loophole: if the neighbors can't see it, then it doesn't need permission. (Our neighbor to the south is a sewage pumping station.) Maybe that'll work for you.
HOAs are (generally) not allowed to restrict what you're entitled to do under state law. If your state law encourages installing a PV system then the HOAs are supposed to revise their rules to match. This has already been tested for situations like satellite TV receivers and roofing materials, so hopefully there's no issue with the HOA. However if your state or your local utility has any restrictions on PV then you'd have to comply with those.
Before talking to the HOA, talk to the local PV installer's association or the top 3-4 PV contractors in your neighborhood. (Ask them about the permits from the govt and the utiilty as well as the HOA.) They understand the HOA permission issues in excruciating detail and will usually have suggestions on how to walk the HOA through the approval process. They may even be able to e-mail you standard diagrams and boilerplate for the application.
We do a lot of this at home shows. (We've also had neighborhood "green fairs" and individual manufacturers giving "solar seminars".) The local exhibition hall will have booths for 20-30 installers, the local PV association, and the city/county permit office. They're all happy to have a conversation.