Replace a tired roof before the array, not after
Panels outlast most roof coverings. If yours is within a few years of the end of its life, replace it first. Removing and reinstalling an array to get at the roof underneath is a cost with no offsetting benefit whatsoever, and it is entirely avoidable while you are still quoting.
Ask for a condition assessment rather than an age estimate, and consider getting it from a roofer rather than only from the company selling you solar. Missouri freeze and thaw cycling, along with hail, ages a covering faster than the calendar suggests.
Ask how many layers of covering are present and what the structure underneath is, and whether anything needs reinforcement to carry the array plus snow load. An installer who has not been on the roof cannot answer those questions.
If the roof does need work, coordinating both jobs is usually cheaper and less disruptive than doing them years apart. Ask the roofer and the installer to speak to each other about sequencing and about how the mounting will interact with the new covering.
Penetrations, hail and who stands behind the work
Ask how mounting penetrations are flashed and sealed, and what method the roofing manufacturer approves for your covering type. If the roof is still under a manufacturer or builder warranty, establish the position before work begins rather than during a future claim.
Ask what the workmanship warranty covers on roof penetrations specifically, for how long, and who honours it. This is the warranty that matters most and the one people read least, because the failure it covers arrives years later.
Ask what hail rating the proposed panels carry, and then ask what the warranty actually pays if a storm damages the array. Equipment warranties commonly cover defects rather than weather damage, which is usually an insurance question instead.
Talk to your home insurer before installation. Ask whether a rooftop array is covered under your policy, whether it changes your premium or deductible, and what documentation they want on file afterwards.
What the system earns, without the assumptions
Missouri's Net Metering and Easy Connection Act covers qualified net metering units of 100 kW or less and applies to regulated utilities, municipal electric utilities and rural electric cooperatives alike.
Standard residential tariffs apply a retail-rate offset for in-period consumption, with year-end surplus reconciled at avoided cost. Build to your consumption rather than beyond it, working from your last twelve months of bills.
Do not assume a property tax exemption. The Missouri Supreme Court held on August 9, 2022 in Johnson v. Springfield Solar 1, LLC that the exemption under Section 137.100(10) is unconstitutional, so ask your county assessor how residential solar is assessed at your address.
And note the 30 percent federal Residential Clean Energy Credit under Section 25D expired for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, while utility rebates have largely been discontinued. Verify any rebate line with your own utility.
Building the number from confirmed pieces only
Three things people expect in Missouri are either gone or unreliable, and a quote built on any of them overstates your return. The 30 percent federal Residential Clean Energy Credit under Section 25D expired for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, so a cash or loan purchase now receives no federal credit.
Utility solar rebates historically existed here but have largely been discontinued. If a rebate appears in a quote, confirm directly with your own utility whether it is currently open, what it pays and whether funding remains, before you sign anything.
And the property tax exemption most guides still list was held unconstitutional by the Missouri Supreme Court on August 9, 2022. Ask your county assessor how residential solar is being assessed at your address rather than assuming an exemption applies.
What does exist is net metering under the Easy Connection Act and the electricity you stop buying. Ask any installer to rebuild the arithmetic from those two things alone, and treat resistance to producing that version as informative in itself.