100 counties · 43 towns · by request
Solar panel removal, reinstall & repair in North Carolina
Solar panel removal for a new roof, repair on systems left behind by closed installers, leaks at the mounts, and storm or hail damage, anywhere in North Carolina. Pick your county or town below, or call or text with the address and a photo of the array.
✓Any roofer. Any installer. Any brand.
✓Written quote before a panel moves
✓Call or text for a straight answer
✓Licensed and insured in Florida
How we cover North Carolina
The honest version
Art of Solar is a Florida solar company, registered in Plantation, and North Carolina is new ground for us. We will not pretend there is a crew around the corner. What you get is a straight answer: call or text the address, the panel count and what is going on, and we will tell you what the job needs, roughly what it should cost, and whether we can take it on or who should. Planned work, like a full detach and reset ahead of a re-roof, is the kind worth booking ahead, and nothing goes ahead without the North Carolina license the work requires.
The rules in North Carolina
Who can touch the panels, and the paperwork
North Carolina treats solar work of any size as electrical contracting, licensed by the State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors. A limited, intermediate or unlimited license covers it, and the special restricted single-family dwelling license covers wiring on a detached house. Guidance posted by both the electrical and general contractor boards says the licensed electrician holds the permit and a general contractor may work as a subcontractor, so a roofer alone should not unplug and reinstall an array. City and county inspections departments issue electrical and building permits under the state's 2019 rooftop solar inspection procedure, which requires an engineer-sealed mounting design for systems over three pounds per square foot, roofs with more than one layer of shingles, roofs other than shingles or metal, and homes in wind zones of 140 mph or more. Duke Energy closed its old net metering rider to applications after September 30, 2023. Newer systems use Residential Solar Choice, with time-of-use rates, a minimum bill and monthly exports credited at avoided cost, or the capped Net Metering Bridge rider, and homes on the old rider move to the Bridge rider after December 31, 2026. Dominion Energy North Carolina has its own rider, and co-ops and town systems set their own terms.
Weather and roofs
What hits arrays in North Carolina
Helene in September 2024 was the most devastating natural disaster in western North Carolina's history, with floods and landslides along the French Broad, Swannanoa, Pigeon and Catawba rivers and wind that leveled trees across whole mountainsides. In the east, Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018 set river flood records, Florence's winds downed thousands of trees along the coast, and Dorian flooded Ocracoke in 2019. The Piedmont gets hail and ice storms, the mountains carry snow and ice, and salt spray works on racking and wiring along the sounds and beaches.
Installer gone?
Systems left behind in North Carolina
Pink Energy, the former PowerHome Solar of Mooresville, filed for bankruptcy on October 7, 2022, while the North Carolina Attorney General was investigating it, and many of its homeowners were left paying loans on systems they said underperformed or never worked. In February 2024 the Attorney General's office warned that Encor Solar had gone out of business, leaving many North Carolinians without products or services they had paid for, and asked those affected to file complaints. Panel and inverter warranties generally stay with the equipment, and any properly licensed electrical contractor can service an orphaned system.
Installer out of business?Find your area
North Carolina, region by region
- Charlotte Region
- Research Triangle
- Piedmont Triad
- Blue Ridge Mountains
- Foothills
- Sandhills
- Eastern Coastal Plain
- Southern Coast
- Outer Banks and Albemarle
Charlotte Region
The Charlotte region takes in Mecklenburg and the seven counties around it, from Statesville and Mooresville in the north to Monroe, Albemarle and Wadesboro in the south and east. Duke Energy Carolinas serves most homes, Union Power Cooperative, EnergyUnited and Pee Dee EMC cover the suburban and rural edges, and Concord, Gastonia, Monroe, Statesville, Albemarle, Cornelius, Huntersville and Pineville run town systems. Older Myers Park and Dilworth houses give way to big subdivisions with homeowners associations in Union, Cabarrus and Iredell. Pink Energy, the installer that went bankrupt in 2022, was based in Mooresville. Hail, ice storms and falling trees, as Hugo showed in 1989, cause most of the damage.
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Research Triangle
The Triangle region spans Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill and seven fast-growing neighbors, from Person and Granville on the Virginia line to Lee, Harnett and Johnston in the south. Duke Energy Progress serves Raleigh and most of the region, and Duke Energy Carolinas shares parts of Durham, Orange, Chatham, Granville and Person. Wake Electric, Piedmont Electric, Central Electric and South River EMC serve rural areas, and Apex, Wake Forest, Smithfield, Clayton, Selma, Benson and Louisburg run town systems. Housing runs from Raleigh's Oakwood and Durham's Trinity Park to large newer subdivisions with homeowners associations in Apex, Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina. Fran in 1996 showed what falling pines do to roofs, and the April 2011 tornadoes hit Raleigh and Sanford.
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Piedmont Triad
The Triad covers Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point and the counties around them, from Stokes, Rockingham and Caswell on the Virginia line to Randolph and Davidson in the south. Duke Energy Carolinas serves most homes, Duke Energy Progress has parts of the eastern counties, EnergyUnited, Randolph EMC, Piedmont Electric and Surry-Yadkin EMC cover the countryside, and High Point and Lexington run city systems. Housing ranges from early 1900s neighborhoods such as Winston-Salem's Ardmore and Greensboro's Fisher Park to brick ranches, newer suburbs and farmhouses. Ice storms are a known Triad hazard, with hail and spring tornadoes close behind, and mature oaks over older roofs add shade and debris.
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Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge region covers 20 mountain counties, from Cherokee and Clay at the Georgia line through Asheville to Boone, Ashe and Alleghany, plus Polk, Rutherford and McDowell at the foot of the range. Duke Energy Progress serves the Asheville area, Duke Energy Carolinas the far west and parts of Henderson and Transylvania, and Haywood EMC, French Broad EMC, Rutherford EMC, Blue Ridge Energy and Mountain Electric cover the coves, with New River Light and Power in Boone and town systems in Highlands, Waynesville and Murphy. Roofs are steep, often metal and shaded by hardwoods. Helene in 2024 brought floods, landslides and wind that leveled whole mountainsides of trees, and snow and ice load the higher roofs most winters.
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Foothills
The Foothills run along the base of the Blue Ridge from Mount Airy and the Yadkin Valley through Wilkesboro, Lenoir, Morganton and Hickory to Shelby and Lincolnton. Duke Energy Carolinas serves most of it, EnergyUnited, Rutherford EMC, Blue Ridge Energy and Surry-Yadkin EMC cover rural areas, and Morganton, Newton, Shelby, Kings Mountain, Lincolnton, Granite Falls and Maiden run their own systems. Housing mixes furniture and textile mill houses, brick ranches, farmhouses and lake homes on Lake Hickory, Lake James and the west shore of Lake Norman. Helene flooded and battered Burke, Caldwell and Cleveland counties in 2024, leaving nearly all of Burke without power, and hail and ice add to the risk.
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Sandhills
The Sandhills run from Pinehurst and Southern Pines through Fayetteville and Fort Bragg to Laurinburg and Lumberton near the South Carolina line. Duke Energy Progress serves most homes, Lumbee River EMC, Pee Dee EMC, Randolph EMC and South River EMC cover rural areas, and the Fayetteville Public Works Commission, Laurinburg, Lumberton and Red Springs run city systems. Housing mixes golf-course homes and old cottages around Pinehurst, military family neighborhoods near Fayetteville, brick ranches and manufactured homes. Longleaf pines shed needles that pack under arrays and hold moisture against shingles. Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018 both flooded Lumberton, and Matthew dropped more than 17 inches of rain on Hope Mills.
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Eastern Coastal Plain
The Coastal Plain is 19 counties of farm towns and river cities, from Henderson, Roanoke Rapids and Ahoskie in the north through Rocky Mount, Wilson, Greenville, Goldsboro and Kinston to Whiteville. Duke Energy Progress serves most homes, Dominion Energy North Carolina covers the northeast, co-ops such as Edgecombe-Martin County EMC, Pitt and Greene EMC, Tri-County EMC, Halifax EMC, Roanoke Electric and Four County EMC carry rural lines, and Greenville Utilities, Wilson, Rocky Mount, Kinston and Tarboro run city systems. Housing is mostly farmhouses with metal roofs, brick ranches and manufactured homes. River floods after Floyd in 1999, Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018 are the big hazard, and Helene spun up an EF3 tornado in Nash County.
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Southern Coast
The Southern Coast runs from Brunswick County and Wilmington up through Topsail, Jacksonville and Camp Lejeune to Morehead City, New Bern and Oriental in Pamlico County. Duke Energy Progress serves Wilmington and many towns, Brunswick EMC, Four County EMC, Jones-Onslow EMC, Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative and Tideland EMC cover much of the rest, and New Bern and Southport run city systems. Housing ranges from raised beach houses to older Wilmington and New Bern homes and big newer subdivisions around Leland and Jacksonville. Florence came ashore near Wrightsville Beach in 2018 and flooded New Bern, Pender County and Jacksonville. Near the beaches, salt air and high design wind speeds shape every install.
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Outer Banks and Albemarle
This region wraps around the Albemarle and Pamlico sounds, from Corolla and the Dare County beaches to Elizabeth City, Edenton, Plymouth, Washington and Ocracoke. Dominion Energy North Carolina serves most of it, Albemarle EMC, Tideland EMC, Roanoke Electric and Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative cover rural areas and Hatteras Island, and Elizabeth City, Edenton, Hertford, Washington and Belhaven run town systems. Beach houses sit on pilings, many of them rentals, while the sound towns keep older frame homes. Salt spray, nor'easters and hurricanes such as Isabel in 2003 and Dorian in 2019, which flooded Ocracoke, wear on racking, wiring and roof seals faster than they would inland.
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FAQ
Solar in North Carolina: common questions
Do you work in North Carolina?
Yes, by request. Art of Solar is a Florida solar company, so North Carolina work is booked ahead and grouped by region. Call or text the address, the panel count and what is going on, and you get a straight answer about whether we can take it on or who should.
Who can remove and reinstall solar panels for a new roof in North Carolina?
A contractor licensed by the State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, since the board counts solar work of any value as electrical contracting. The licensed electrician pulls the permit, and a general contractor may work as a subcontractor. A roofer without an electrical license can replace the roof but should leave the disconnect, removal and rewiring of the array to the electrician.
What does a rooftop solar permit involve in North Carolina?
The city or county inspections department issues electrical and building permits under the state's 2019 rooftop solar procedure, which asks for a wiring sketch and a mounting sketch. An engineer must seal the mounting design for heavier systems, roofs with more than one layer of shingles, roofs other than shingles or metal, and homes in wind zones of 140 mph or more. A reinstall on a new roof generally goes through the same steps.
Will a reinstall affect my Duke Energy net metering in North Carolina?
Duke's older net metering rider closed to applications after September 30, 2023, and homes still on it are scheduled to move to the Net Metering Bridge rider after December 31, 2026. Newer systems are on Residential Solar Choice or the Bridge rider. Changing panels, the inverter or the system size can count as a modification, so Duke should hear about the plan before the array comes down.
Pink Energy or Encor Solar installed my system and the company is gone. What now?
Pink Energy filed for bankruptcy in October 2022, and the Attorney General's office reported in February 2024 that Encor Solar had gone out of business. The hardware can still be serviced by any licensed electrical contractor, manufacturer warranties generally stay with the equipment, and the Attorney General's consumer protection division takes complaints from affected homeowners.
Is hail or hurricane damage to solar panels covered by insurance in North Carolina?
Panels a homeowner owns and has fixed to the roof are usually covered as part of the dwelling, subject to the policy's deductibles, and some coastal policies carry a separate wind or named-storm deductible. Leased systems may be insured by the leasing company. A solar technician's written assessment, photos and production data give the adjuster something concrete to work with.
Other states
Where else we take requests
Get a quote
Anywhere in North Carolina, in writing
Pick your town, or choose the last option if it is not listed. The address, roughly how many panels and a photo of the array are enough to start.
Solar help anywhere in North Carolina
Any brand, any roofer, any original installer. Written quote before a panel moves.