Solar Panels in New Britain, Connecticut

Eversource is the electric distribution company serving New Britain.

Connecticut's Residential Renewable Energy Solutions program is administered by Eversource and United Illuminating within their respective service territories. PURA describes RRES as the program that replaced legacy net metering for new enrollment beginning in 2022.

Under **Buy-All**, all electricity produced by the system is exported to the grid. Generation and household consumption are measured separately, and Eversource compensates the enrolled beneficiary under the applicable PURA-approved tariff. The household continues purchasing the electricity it consumes from Eversource.

Under **Netting**, the home uses solar production first and exports production that is not consumed onsite. Eversource calculates a bill or credit from net usage and production at the end of the billing cycle, and unused credits roll forward under the tariff rules.

For projects applying in 2026, Eversource also publishes a Solar Energy Adjustment applicable to total production under the Netting tariff. Current details appear in Eversource's RRES guidance.

Ask each installer to show:

• Which RRES election the proposal assumes.
• The program year used in the calculation.
• Every current tariff rate, adjustment, and fee included.
• The amount of electricity assumed to be consumed onsite or exported.
• Whether the proposed ownership agreement controls who receives tariff compensation.

Current tariff terms should be checked directly with Eversource and PURA before signing.

New Britain's Building Department administers building and trade permits and inspections.

Applications can be submitted through the City's online permitting portal, where applicants can provide project details, upload documents, and monitor the application.

A typical project sequence is:

1. The homeowner or installer confirms who controls the roof, evaluates its condition, and prepares the structural, electrical, and layout documents required for the proposed system.
2. The permit applicant submits the required building and electrical materials through the City's online portal.
3. The City reviews the application under the Connecticut State Building Code and any applicable local land-use or historic-preservation requirements.
4. After permit approval, the installer completes the work and requests the required municipal inspections.
5. The installer completes the separate Eversource interconnection and RRES process before the system is authorized to operate.

Connecticut's 30-day permit decision requirement has a specific statutory scope. Under CGS §16-245nn(a)(1), a residential solar photovoltaic system is a system with a nameplate capacity of 12 kilowatts or less, installed on the roof of a single-family home, and conforming to the Connecticut State Building Code. The 30-day requirement applies only to systems meeting that definition. A system above 12 kilowatts has no 30-day decision deadline under this statute.

Applicants should confirm current timing with the Building Department and monitor the application through the City's online portal.

New Britain's published fee schedule bases building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permit charges on project cost. It lists $35 for the first $1,000, $25 for the second $1,000, and $15 for each additional $1,000 or portion. It also lists a $25 flat Certificate of Approval fee. Applicants should confirm the permit types and total charges that apply to the submitted scope.

New Britain's adopted Plan of Conservation and Development reports that 34 percent of the city's housing units are in single-family structures, 37 percent are in two-to-four-family structures, and 28 percent are in structures with five or more units.

Roughly two-thirds of the city's housing units are therefore not in single-family structures. A large share of New Britain housing is not a homeowner-controlled roof serving one household, and not every unit is a candidate for an individual homeowner rooftop-solar project.

Renters need the property owner's participation. Owners of multi-family buildings need proposals that address roof control, the building's electrical service and metering, shared use of the roof, and which account or beneficiary would receive any RRES compensation.

The plan also reports that roughly two-thirds of the city's housing units were built before 1960. Building age alone does not establish roof condition, but older properties can require closer review of roof covering, framing, electrical service, and prior alterations before production and cost assumptions are treated as reliable.

New Britain applies historic review to protected properties without requiring a homeowner to classify the designation type. Visible permit-requiring exterior work on a protected property receives Historic Preservation Commission review.

The City's solar-installation guidance states that an installation visible from a public street, public view, or public right of way requires a Certificate of Suitability and a public hearing. Property owners should confirm whether a property is protected and obtain the required review before relying on a proposed layout.

Before comparing proposals, confirm:

• Who owns and controls the roof and who can authorize the work.
• Roof covering and estimated remaining service life.
• Roof framing and any required structural work.
• Usable roof area after access and setback requirements.
• Pitch and direction of each proposed array.
• Current and seasonal shade.
• Electrical service, metering, and common-area conditions for a multi-family property.
• Whether the property is subject to Historic Preservation Commission review.
• Whether reroofing, electrical-panel work, or other building work is excluded from the quoted price.

For a reproducible production reference, a PVWatts V8 model was run near central New Britain using:

• 1 kW DC capacity.
• Standard modules.
• Fixed roof mounting.
• 30-degree tilt.
• 180-degree azimuth.
• 14 percent system losses.
• Latitude 41.6612 and longitude −72.7795.
• No additional property-specific shading input.

Those inputs produce approximately 1,323 kWh of first-year AC electricity per 1 kW of DC capacity. The model can be reproduced using the PVWatts V8 documentation.

This is a comparison baseline, not a production promise. A proposal should replace the generic orientation and shading assumptions with measurements for the actual roof.

Cost Comparison Checklist

Ask each installer to provide an itemized proposal showing:

• Gross cash price and the price-per-watt calculation.
• Loan principal, financing charges, and payment assumptions, if financing is offered.
• Roofing or structural work.
• Electrical service, meter, or panel work.
• Solar equipment and installation labor.
• Battery equipment and installation, if included.
• Permit, inspection, and utility-interconnection costs.
• Monitoring, warranties, and expected maintenance responsibilities.
• The RRES tariff election and utility assumptions used in the proposal.
• Any work or fees excluded from the quoted price.