Newman Roofing placed first in Best of the ’Bus voting for Best Roofing Company, but it’s not the only first the company has achieved recently. The family owned and operated company, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, is the first to offer and install Tesla solar roofs in Ohio.
“Our father started this roofing company 30 years ago, and to receive the Best of the ’Bus – just to be nominated – was a big honor for us,” says Office and Marketing Manager Alyssa Newman. “It just shows that we really do take our customer service very seriously here and it’s the top of our priority.”
The company recently constructed a 28,000-square-foot facility in Sunbury, with amenities for employees including a cafeteria and workout facility, and a large warehouse. The facility will eventually house showrooms to showcase each of the brands and roofing materials Newman Roofing installs, including asphalt shingles, wood shake and metal roofing.
During the roofing offseason, the business onboarded with Tesla, a multi-month process. Newman Roofing expects to install its first Tesla solar roof as early as this summer.
The Tesla solar roof is a unique integration of solar panel technology and roof tiles to create a seamless and sleek energy-producing roof. The roof tiles are made of glass, with a portion having photovoltaic, or PV, panels that conduct solar energy.
“They’re so discreet on the roof that you can’t distinguish between the PV tiles and the non-PV tiles,” says Sales Manager Alexis Newman, who heads up the Tesla division.
Depending on the size of the roof, it’s possible to fully offset the electricity usage in a home. The roof can be managed with an app that syncs with other Tesla products and allows users to see
how much energy they’re generating, storing and using.
“It’s one of those things where if you’re passionate about going green and reducing your carbon footprint within the community, but you also want an aesthetically pleasing roof, this would be an option for you,” Alyssa says.
It’s also a good option for those in a homeowners’ association who have restrictions on traditional solar panel installations.
“There’s the energy offset, where you are producing solar energy rather than taking energy from the grid,” Alexis says. “Another benefit is that it’s possible for you to produce more than you need, in which (case) you’re giving energy back to the grid.”
Though installing a solar roof will not give immediate returns on the overall investment, there are several tax incentives in place for solar-energy generation. The state of Ohio has payments known as renewable energy credits, which return a modest amount for each megawatt of electricity produced. The federal government offers a federal solar tax credit for solar energy construction. Currently at 26 percent, the credit drops to a 22 percent deduction beginning in 2023.
“We had to start by introducing it to the Ohio market,” Alyssa says. “It has sparked quite a bit of interest. A lot of people are saying they hope that eventually, when they have to go to replace the roof, they’ll get a Tesla solar roof.”
Claire Miller is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at cmiller@cityscenemediagroup.com.
