Who permits the work
Arlington is unusual: the entire county is unincorporated, so there are no towns inside it and Arlington County itself is the only permitting authority — Inspection Services for the building permit, with zoning review before it. Because Arlington lots are small by regional standards, the binding constraint on an addition is almost always lot coverage and setback rather than budget, and that gets decided at zoning review before anyone looks at your framing plan. Worth checking early rather than after a design is drawn.
For a rooftop array that generally means two permits rather than one: a building permit for anything fastened to the roof
structure, and a separate electrical permit for everything downstream of it, pulled by the licensed electrician on the job. We
sequence both and pull the building permit under our licence — you file nothing yourself.
What Arlington homes are actually built like
Arlington is a mix of 1920s–1940s bungalows and colonials closer in, and 1950s ramblers and capes further out, with continuous infill throughout.
For solar that matters in two specific places: the age and condition of the roof covering, which decides whether the array
goes on now or after a replacement, and the capacity of the electrical service, which a licensed electrician confirms before
anything is designed.
What we will not tell you about your Arlington project
No production figure, no payback year, no incentive percentage and no equipment warranty term. Those depend on your roof,
your bills, your tax position and programmes that change — and a number published before anyone has measured your roof is
a guess. Your specialist puts the real ones in writing after the free assessment, and tells you to confirm anything
tax-related with your own tax adviser.
Permit authority and code requirements are summarized for general guidance and can change; we confirm the current requirements for your specific parcel before work begins. Nothing on this page is tax advice.