What should I know about putting solar panels on a Florida home?

That is section 163.04 of the Florida Statutes. No city or county ordinance may prohibit solar collectors or have the effect of prohibiting them. No deed restriction, covenant or similar agreement may do so either, and a property owner may not be denied permission by a homeowners association or similar body.

An association may decide where on the roof the panels go. Its choice has to be within a range facing south, or up to 45 degrees east or west of due south, and it may not keep the panels from working well.

Solar energy systems and all their parts are exempt from Florida sales tax under section 212.08 of the Florida Statutes, and that law has no end date. The Florida Solar Energy Center, an energy research center of the University of Central Florida in Cocoa, certifies the list of equipment that counts. Its main number is 321-638-1000.

Florida law also requires the state's electric utilities, including city-owned utilities and rural electric cooperatives, to have a standard agreement for connecting a customer's own renewable system, such as rooftop solar, and a net metering program. Ask your electric utility for its agreement and the terms of its net metering program before you sign a contract with an installer.

For questions about taxes, ask a tax professional. For a question about your association documents, ask a Florida attorney.

Where to go from here.