Dealing with your home owners association
Many consumers who live in condos, town homes or apartments sometimes have issues with installing solar power because of the home owners association (HOA). In California a law has been cleared to help people to deal with the HOA in a way that favors solar energy over strict HOA rules. HOAs have been known to enact frivolous rules to deter prospective solar energy users from installing panels to offset their energy use from the grid.
Although the residents of California are lucky due to favorable legislation, the rest of the USA may have issues dealing with the HOA because the rules in most states still favor the HOA over solar energy. We’re in an energy crisis in America and we still have HOA’s that are against solar panels! This sounds crazy to us, because it shows some major flaws of why the US is still so far away from reaching energy independence.
Instead of homeowners and HOA’s fighting in court about the issue of solar panels, they should be working together to see how much solar they can all install to offset the energy use of an entire complex. A collaborative approach to solar energy is the only way we can achieve our goals.
Have you ever had problems with a HOA and solar panels? What do you think should there be a nationwide law to favor solar panels over HOAs?
