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Long ranch-style home with a full black solar shingle roof under a blue winter sky, with snow on the lawn

Minnesota · Headquarters

Solar Shingles in Minnesota, from a Minneapolis Company

Our shingles are designed for the winters we live through. Rated from −40 °F, hail-tested and installed by roofing crews, on homes and pitched-roof buildings.

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A Minneapolis company.

Energy ReLeaf is headquartered at 4928 Cedar Avenue S. in Minneapolis. Our shingles are designed, engineered and assembled in the USA.

Each shingle is a 55 or 60 watt solar module on a baseplate that goes down in courses like any other shingle. Courses are offset by 50%, so the layout follows hips and valleys. Installs are done by Energy ReLeaf cooperative member installers, and there's no racking bolted through the roof.

Battery storage is built into the roof. By default the system doesn't feed back to the grid, so it can be turned on right away instead of waiting on utility interconnection. If you want to send power to the grid, you can.

See how a roofing crew installs it, or read the full shingle specifications.

Aerial view of a gray two-story suburban home with solar shingle sections on three roof planes, surrounded by autumn trees

Pilot install

On a Minnesota roof.

Our pilot install is a single-story ranch home in Minnesota with a low-slope 4:12 roof. One roofing crew tore off the old roof, rebuilt the deck and put solar shingles on the garage plane, with standard shingles on the rest of the house.

From the street, the solar plane reads as part of the roof. See the install, step by step.

Drone view of a finished Minnesota ranch roof: offset courses of solar shingles on one plane beside standard asphalt shingles

Snow, cold and hail

A roof, ready for Minnesota weather.

Cold

Rated from −40 °F

The operating range runs from −40 °F to 194 °F (−40 to 90 °C). Short days and snow cover are what lower winter output, and your production estimate accounts for both.

Snow

Nothing for snow to pack under

The shingles are the roof surface, so there are no rails or panel gaps for snow and ice to build up behind. Under snow, output pauses, then returns as it clears.

Hail

Tested with a 2-inch steel ball

Each shingle's glass is tested with a 2-inch steel ball dropped from 51 inches. A damaged shingle swaps out on its own by removing six screws.

Replacing a storm-damaged roof

The roof and solar carry a 25-year warranty when installed by an Energy ReLeaf cooperative member installer. Batteries and electronics carry a 10-year warranty (third-party components). See warranty and certifications.

Incentives and permits.

Federal, state and utility incentives for solar change often, so we don't publish rates on this page. When we prepare your proposal, it lists the incentives that apply at your address, with the system size and a production estimate.

Solar shingles need a pitched roof.

Stucco colonial home under tall trees with a dark solar shingle roof across its main roof plane

Talk to us in Minneapolis.

Energy ReLeaf
4928 Cedar Avenue S.
Minneapolis, MN 55417

Call 612-456-9225 or email peter@energyreleaf.com. Roofers and builders: ask about becoming a member installer.

Questions

Minnesota solar shingle questions.

Do solar panels work in Minnesota winters?
Yes, solar shingles keep producing through Minnesota winters, and cold actually helps solar cells run efficiently. Winter output is lower because days are short and snow can cover the roof, so most of a Minnesota system's yearly production comes from spring to fall. Your proposal gives a production estimate for your address that already accounts for our winters.
What happens to solar shingles under snow?
Snow pauses production but doesn't change how the roof works, because the shingles are the roof. While snow covers them, they make little power, the same as any solar system. Output comes back as the snow slides or melts off. There are no rails or gaps under a panel for snow and ice to pack into, and the shingle is rated to operate down to −40 °F.
What happens if solar panels are damaged by hail?
With Energy ReLeaf, you replace just the damaged shingle. Each shingle's glass is tested with a 2-inch steel ball dropped from 51 inches. If one is ever broken, its solar insert comes out by removing six screws, so the roof around it never opens. If hail has already put a new roof on the schedule, the new roof can be the solar system.
What Minnesota solar incentives exist?
Federal, state and utility incentives all change, so we don't list rates here. Your proposal lists the incentives that apply at your address when we prepare it, along with the system size and a production estimate.
Do you need a licensed electrician for solar in Minnesota?
Plan on a licensed electrician, because Minnesota licenses electrical work. The touch-safe, plug-and-play connectors keep electrician labor to a minimum, always subject to local requirements. We strongly recommend a licensed electrician on site during installation to observe the connections and test the system. Your roofing crew installs the roof itself.

Get a free property review.

Tell us where the roof is and we'll tell you what it can do. Homes, commercial buildings, and roofers or builders who want to offer it.

Request my property reviewCall 612-456-9225