Roof renovation with solar: offer an integrated or above-roof system?

An owner wants a new roof covering and would like to include photovoltaics. Your roofing business now has a concrete proposal decision to make: will you offer an integrated system or a new covering with panels mounted above it? Both options belong in a discussion about the same building. The customer needs to understand the roof appearance and scope of work they would choose in each case. A second price sheet labelled “solar” does not answer that question.

This guide is for roofers, carpenters and roof renovation businesses working on projects in Germany. Its starting point is a planned replacement of the roof covering. The responsible specialists assess suitability for the individual project. The subject here is preparing your proposal, not roofing or electrical installation instructions. The two cases below are entirely fictional. They illustrate possible customer choices, not actual business results.

Define the decision for the whole renovation roof

Start with the roof area your business is actually expected to renew. An owner may mean the street-facing slope when saying “the roof”, while your initial draft also includes the rear slope. Clarify that boundary before comparing PV options. Otherwise, differences between two proposals may arise from different renovation scopes. Identify areas that will remain in place too. They form part of the starting situation, but mentioning them does not automatically include work on them.

Next, ask what matters to the owner about combining a roof and electricity generation. Do they want a consistent appearance, have they already chosen a particular covering, or is the design still open? Record those preferences separately from any technical commitment. A design preference is a useful starting point for advice. Further assessment must establish whether and with which system it can be realised. Your proposal should address that specific choice.

Explain the two types of proposal clearly

The current BMI/BRAAS manufacturer overview of PV systems distinguishes integrated systems from a conventional above-roof system. It names PV Premium and PV Indax for integration and PV Standard for the above-roof option. These examples show that different product routes exist. They are neither a recommendation for every roof nor a promise that your business offers every system mentioned.

Use your own draft to explain where the PV area sits in relation to the planned covering. Which areas does the system design identify as integrated, and which receive the remaining covering? How does the above-roof alternative depict the new covering and the panels above it? Clearly identifying these areas helps the sales discussion. The construction solution and its suitability come from specialist planning. An understandable roof illustration does not replace that confirmation.

Offer only the confirmed combination

The manufacturer overview names specific PV Premium combinations with Tegalit Aerlox and Turmalin. Your own proposal needs confirmation of the actual configuration intended. Check the planned covering and chosen system against your supplier’s current project documents. A general product overview does not establish the suitability of an arbitrary combination. A similar colour or the same brand name is insufficient too.

Ask the responsible specialist to record which option can be developed into a proposal for this roof and which question remains open. A customer preference may be confirmed, or it may require another covering or additional planning. Carry that finding into the proposal selection. If a combination remains unresolved, do not present it as an executable alternative alongside a confirmed solution. The customer needs a real choice with each option’s status visible.

Compare the same completed scope

Define what your business is to hand over under each option. This includes the named roof areas and the work actually agreed for them. Allocate the PV-related services separately. In particular, check whether both price sheets contain the same preparatory and finishing work. Otherwise a difference in total price may reflect an omitted service while the customer sees it as the price difference between integrated and above-roof PV.

Use the same descriptions for work included in both options. Describe differences where they actually occur. If the selected system changes how particular covering items are accounted for, your costing must reflect that precise scope. Do not deduct a general allowance for “saved roof tiles” while the confirmed area and material allocation is missing. Base the comparison on the quantities and services you have actually established, rather than a general savings argument.

Keep the electrical work explicitly separate

An owner may easily understand a roof proposal including PV as a complete operational installation. Before presenting the price, clarify which part your business provides and which electrical service needs a separate agreement. A named responsible specialist business and a clarified proposal scope help establish that boundary. A possible contact is not yet a confirmed subcontracted service included in your own total price.

If your business wants to prepare a comprehensive proposal, the participating services and responsibilities must first be genuinely agreed. If you offer only the described roofing element, explain that scope just as clearly. Do not promise electrical commissioning by a third party that has not been engaged. The manufacturer page describes its own support services. That creates neither a partnership with your business nor an automatic appointment for the customer’s project.

Cost the alternative using your own figures

For each confirmed option, establish materials, preparation, your own labour, required external services and the associated proposal work. Use your business’s own cost basis. Allocate shared site facilities transparently so they are neither accidentally counted twice nor omitted entirely. Ask the people who will prepare the work to read the costing. They can often identify items whose descriptions remain too general.

This comparison needs no supposed industry margins or fixed surcharges. If supplier information is outstanding, identify the affected item and resolve it before making the corresponding commitment. Also distinguish the price of your roofing work from the price of a potentially more comprehensive installation. Two totals become meaningful comparisons only when the customer understands their scope. The customer needs clarity about the actual arrangement; you need the corresponding cost basis.

Explain differences from another total price

If the owner presents another proposal, ask what decision they want to make with it. They may be comparing the entire renovation contract or just the PV work. Review the named roof area and included scope together. A price for panels on an existing roof is not an equivalent alternative to renewing that same area with an integrated system. Explain the difference in what is being supplied without suggesting that the other provider has costed it incorrectly. Unknown items remain unknown.

If the customer wants another document for comparison, identify the missing information precisely. It may matter whether the quoted total includes the new conventional covering or electrical work. Your business can explain its own scope clearly. That does not let you confirm the accuracy of another proposal that is incomplete in your hands. An understandable comparison helps the customer clarify the outstanding service question before choosing solely between two totals.

Separate the roof choice from yield promises

The owner may ask which option produces more electricity or pays back sooner. Refer that question, with the available project information, to the responsible planner. A manufacturer’s description of good performance does not amount to a yield calculation for this house. You can already explain the construction difference while a separate calculation is outstanding. Identify both states of knowledge in the discussion.

Do not turn advertised warranties into your own blanket promise either. If a particular warranty matters to the customer’s decision, its actual scope and conditions need to be available. This guide does not compare warranty programmes. For the proposal choice addressed here, clearly identifying confirmed services and outstanding calculations is sufficient. The owner may like an attractive roof appearance without your deriving a particular financial result from it.

Fictional case: the owner chooses the integrated area

Suppose an owner is renewing the agreed main roof area. They want electricity generation to fit closely into the new roof appearance. Your specialist team obtains confirmation of a suitable system and covering combination for this project. You present it alongside an above-roof alternative that has also received the necessary specialist clarification. Both drafts relate to the same renovation area and show the roofing work actually planned in each case.

In this fictional case, the owner chooses the integrated option after your explanation. Before further commissioning, the actual electrical scope and how it will be offered are clarified. Your team carries the selected version and confirmed area allocation into the project record. The case claims neither lower total costs nor higher electricity yield. It demonstrates a traceable customer choice based on a specifically offered roof appearance and scope of work.

Fictional case: the new covering remains the starting point

In a second invented case, the owner has already chosen a conventional roof appearance for the renovation. She wants to assess a suitable above-roof solution alongside it. Your business has the intended combination and its own share of the work checked. An integrated alternative would interest her only if she wanted to change her previous design choice. Explain that difference without presenting such a change as inherently better.

For the subsequent proposal, she chooses the new covering with an installation planned above it. You record the included roofing work and the electrical scope still requiring separate confirmation. An integrated option discussed earlier remains identifiable as an alternative that was not selected. It is not accidentally included in the order. This case likewise says nothing about a generally cheaper solution. The customer’s choice fits the preferences and confirmed possibilities expressly assumed here.

Continue with one identifiable proposal version

After the discussion, your team should recognise which alternative the customer wants to pursue. Identify its version and associated documents. If no decision has been made, record the precise outstanding question. “PV undecided” is too vague if only the desired roof appearance remains unclear. Equally, a design decision should not appear as complete technical or commercial approval of the entire project.

If the owner later changes the covering or roof area involved, have the affected system allocation assessed again by the specialists. Keep the earlier version as history. The new proposal uses the current confirmed combination and the scope actually desired. A colleague covering for you can then explain why an earlier price comparison cannot be reused unchanged. A new customer preference needs an appropriate new basis, rather than silent reuse of old commitments.

Check that the customer can explain the proposal

At the end of the consultation, ask the owner to describe the selected option in their own words. Can they identify the roof area, the position of the PV area and the boundary of your proposal? If one of those points is missing, explain that point specifically. They are not being asked to design a system. They should understand which service they are requesting from your business and which further decision remains outstanding.

Then read the proposal with your specialist team. Does the described choice match the confirmed documents and your costing? Is the separate electrical element understandable? Remove wording that promises more than the agreed service. This gives the customer a sound basis for their renovation decision. Whether it becomes an order depends on the actual discussion and your specific proposal.

New renovation conversations for your business

webRichtung roof renovation enquiries open contact with owners interested in renovation in Germany. You clarify any PV preference, particular system type or completed planning documents yourself; these are not promised enquiry attributes here. Register your business on the industry page. In webRichtung Customer, choose your area, delivery type and monthly limit and view the current price before ordering. The limit does not guarantee a delivery volume. Your specialist conversation develops the enquiry into your own specifically described renovation proposal.