Solar-ready standing seam · Vancouver Island
A standing seam roof that solar can clamp onto later.
Standing seam formed in our Nanaimo shop, with the solar question settled before the roof goes on rather than after.
Now booking. Tell us about your project and we’ll email you a time.
Nanaimo, Parksville and Qualicum, Port Alberni, Courtenay and Comox, Duncan and the Cowichan Valley, Greater Victoria, Campbell River and the Gulf Islands.
How the clamps work
That is the practical advantage of a standing seam roof if solar is anywhere in your thinking. The seam is a structural rib standing above the water plane, and clamps grip it. Whether that works on a given roof depends on the profile and on the engineering for the array, which is a question to settle before the roof goes on rather than after.
S-5! is the brand most commonly specified in Canada for this. Its clamps attach to the standing seam with set screws and carry the rail that the solar modules sit on.
We do not install solar. The array, the electrical work and the permits are handled by your solar contractor, and we are happy to coordinate the roof side with whoever you choose.
Decide these before the roof goes on
Where the array will sit
Panel runs, penetration locations and where the clamps land are all easier to plan on paper than to work around later.
Profile and engineering
Whether clamps suit the roof depends on the seam profile and on the engineering for the array and its loads. It is a specification question, not a preference.
Who does what
Roof from us, array and electrical from a solar contractor. Getting the sequence agreed early avoids the roof being finished before anyone has thought about the mounting.
The BC Hydro rebate
BC Hydro offers a residential solar rebate of $1,000 per kilowatt of installed DC capacity, up to 50% of the total installed cost, to a maximum of $5,000 for an individually metered home.
Since 1 June 2026, BC Hydro requires the system to be installed by a member of the Home Performance Contractor Network, so it is worth confirming that with your solar installer early. Check the current terms directly with BC Hydro.
Where the rebate money actually is
The Canada Greener Homes Grant is closed, and the Canada Greener Homes Loan closed to new applicants in October 2025. If you have read about federal money for this, that is what it was referring to.
Insulation is still the part of a roof project where rebate money exists in BC.
If solar is a maybe rather than a plan
It is still worth saying so when we quote. Knowing that an array might arrive in five years changes where we would rather put vents and penetrations, and it costs nothing to plan the roof around a possibility.
Retrofitting clamps to an existing standing seam roof is also normal. The reason to mention it now is that the roof is much easier to lay out for it than to adapt afterwards.
Solar-ready questions.
Tell us about your project and we’ll email you to book.
Send the address and say whether solar is planned, possible or already quoted.