⚡ A Live Look at What iSolar Has Built — live production loading… See the work →
Answer a few quick questions about your roof, panel and property. We'll flag what to plan for — no email required.
Eight quick questions — the same things our site assessors and the utility look at. No email needed, answers stay on this page.
These are the requirements behind the quiz — the things that decide whether your home connects to solar smoothly in the Twin Cities metro.
Xcel Energy requires solar homes to have a 200-amp (or 320-amp) continuous-duty meter socket with a lever-actuated bypass inside. Older sockets get swapped as part of the job — our sister company Three Rivers Electric does these upgrades in-house.
Electrical code caps how much solar can feed a panel: solar breaker + main breaker can’t exceed 120% of the busbar rating. A 200A panel handles most home systems; smaller or full panels usually mean a panel upgrade or a downsized system.
The utility wants a visible, lockable shutoff near the meter. We plan wall space for it during design — it’s routine, but it has to be right.
Panels run 25+ years. If your shingles are near the end, we’ll tell you straight — and can coordinate roof + solar together through Three Rivers Contracting.
Garage or ground-mount solar needs a trench or overhead run back to your main service — without driveways, mature roots or buried utilities blocking the way. We scout the route at the site visit.
Xcel homes can pair solar with Solar*Rewards; co-ops and municipals each have their own interconnection paperwork. We handle the applications either way.
★ 4.9 on Google · 30-year warranty · Local family crew — we reply within one business day. No pressure, ever.
The meter socket. In Xcel territory, solar needs a 200-amp (or 320-amp) continuous-duty meter socket with a lever-actuated bypass — the single biggest go/no-go item. Approved lever-bypass sockets come from brands like Landis+Gyr, Square D, Milbank and Eaton; if yours is older, our sister company Three Rivers Electric swaps it as part of the job.
Usually not. A full or small panel often means a panel upgrade, a sub-panel, or a slightly smaller array under the NEC 120% rule. The Panel Capacity Check gives you a 30-second read, and we confirm it on site.
Only if it’s near the end of its life. Panels last 25+ years, so we won’t set them on shingles with a couple of years left — we’ll tell you straight, and can coordinate roof and solar together through Three Rivers Contracting.
Yes. Detached-building and ground-mount solar work well — they just need a clear trench or overhead path back to your main service, without driveways, mature tree roots or buried utilities in the way. We scout the route at the site visit.
No — this is the whole-house, eight-question version. The Panel Capacity Check is the 30-second, panel-only screen. Start with whichever question is nagging you, or run both.
A free on-site assessment beats any checker — book one.