Most roofs on the Costa Blanca can carry solar panels. Some need work first, and a few are better left alone. Whether yours is one of them comes down to four things: the structure, the covering, the sun it gets, and the route from the roof to your electrical panel. You can look at some of these yourself before asking for a quote; the structural question is one only a qualified professional can answer.
1. The structure
Panels and their mounting add weight, and wind adds forces that pull upwards as well as push down. The roof structure, the beams or slab under the covering, has to carry that. On most houses in good condition this is not a problem. On older villas, extensions built later, wooden structures or roofs that have been altered, it needs a proper look.
Only a qualified person can judge whether a structure is strong enough. Signs that it needs attention are sagging lines, cracks in walls below the roof, damp stains on ceilings, or wood that is soft or has been attacked by insects. If you see any of these, mention them; it does not rule out solar, but it changes what we check first.
2. The covering: tiles or waterproofing
On a tiled roof, panels are fixed with hooks to the structure under the tiles. The tiles are lifted, the hook is fixed, and the tiles go back. Broken, loose or porous tiles are best replaced at the same time. Very old tiles can break when lifted; it is better to know that in advance.
On a flat roof, the waterproofing is what matters. If it is near the end of its life, renew it before the panels go on. Our guide on solar panels on a flat roof covers the rest.
3. Sun and shade
South-facing roofs get the most sun over the year; east and west-facing roofs produce less in total but spread production over the morning or the afternoon, which can suit how you use power. North-facing roof faces are rarely worth it. How shading and orientation affect production explains the details.
Shade matters more than most people expect. A chimney, a neighbour’s building, a palm tree or a wall on the roof can take a panel out of production for part of the day, and on a simple string system one shaded panel pulls down the ones connected to it. Winter shadows are longer, so a roof that is clear in July may not be in December.
4. The route to the electrical panel
Cables have to run from the panels to the inverter, and from the inverter to your electrical panel. We look at where the inverter can go (shaded, ventilated, reachable), how the cables can be routed neatly, and whether the electrical panel has room for the new protection. Older installations sometimes need an update to the earthing or the panel itself. Neat routing is one of the things customers notice afterwards.
Space is a separate question
A roof can be in perfect condition and still be too small for what you need, or oddly shaped. How much surface you need is covered in how much roof space do you need for solar panels. When space is tight, a careful layout makes the difference. One customer wrote:
“They configured and fitted the installation exactly as I wanted. That wasn’t easy because of the limited space on the roof. They came to inspect beforehand.”
Han W., Google review, translated from Dutch
Community and urbanisation rules
If the roof is shared, in an apartment block or a community of owners, the community has to agree first. Some urbanisations have their own rules on how panels may look or where they may go. That is separate from the town hall’s paperwork; both apply. See what documents you need.
What a survey looks like
Before we propose a system, José visits the house. He looks at the roof, the structure where it can be seen, the shade, the place for the inverter and the electrical panel. Only then do we put a design and a price on paper. We do this for houses across the Costa Blanca. How the installation itself goes is described on solar panel installation.
If you want to prepare, the photo checklist below helps us give you a first answer before the visit.
