Solar Panels

The Wolftrap Meadows HOA Board is providing the following information on solar panel installations.    

Per the Fairfax County Using Solar website, under Virginia state law (§56-594), residential customers may install systems up to 20 kilowatts and non-residential customers may install systems up to 500 kilowatts. Electric utilities must credit solar panel owners for excess electricity generated through something called "net metering." Your solar contractor should coordinate with your electric utility to replace your standard meter with a net meter after your panels are installed. The net meter is bi-directional, tracking electrons flowing both out of and into the grid.  

Under Virginia state law (§67-701), homeowner associations (HOAs) typically cannot prohibit solar installations. However, the law allows "reasonable restrictions concerning the size, place, and manner of placement."  

Under Virginia state law (§55-353), property owners can form solar easements with their neighbors. A solar easement enables you and a neighbor to voluntarily form an agreement under which the neighbor will not shade your property. The easement then applies to later owners of the neighboring property. 

The Wolftrap Meadows HOA Board Officers along with the ARB committee has developed these guidelines and procedures for homeowners looking to install solar panels. 

The following is what the ARB looks for when approving requests to install solar panels. 

• Solar panels shall be installed on the homeowner's roof only.  
• Solar panels shall not extend beyond the roof lines.  
• Solar panels shall be black, brown, or gray and as much as possible match the current color of the roof they are placed on.  
• Any subsequent roof has to match as much as possible the solar panel color, if a solar panel is already on the roof. 

Pease fill out ARB Form A and submit to the HOA Board for approval prior to any solar panel installation. Please include sketches and installation plans from your vendor.  Please note, the HOA Board will only accept ARB form submissions from homeowners. Please do not have your vendor email the HOA Board. Any forms your installer needs signed by a HOA Board representative should be sent to the HOA Board via email by the homeowner.  All communications concerning solar panels including form submission shall be through the HOA Board email address, wolftrapmeadowshoa@gmail.com.