What a grid-tied array does when the power goes out
A grid-tied system without storage disconnects during an outage. This surprises people who reasonably assume that panels on a roof plus sunshine equals electricity, and it is better to learn it now than during the storm.
If keeping some of the house running matters to you, ask any installer to be specific rather than general. Which circuits stay live, for how long at a realistic load, and does the battery recharge from the array while the grid is down. Configurations differ and the differences matter a great deal over several days.
Ask what a battery sized for outage cover looks like against one sized for everyday bill savings. They are often not the same system, and knowing which you are being quoted is essential before comparing prices between installers.
Be realistic about the load you want to carry. A system that keeps a fridge, some lighting and a few outlets going for days is a different proposition from one attempting to run air conditioning, and the honest version of that conversation happens before the contract rather than after.
Coastal conditions, equipment siting and your insurer
Ask where the inverter, any battery and the associated equipment would be sited, and how that placement relates to your property's exposure to flooding. Equipment location is a design decision made once, and it is worth raising deliberately rather than leaving to convenience.
Ask about wind. What is the mounting specified to withstand, how are attachments detailed, and has the installer done coastal work before. An installer who works this stretch of the shore regularly will answer without hesitation.
Talk to your home insurer before installation rather than after. Ask whether a rooftop array and any battery are covered under your policy, whether either changes your premium or deductible, and what documentation they want on file afterwards. That is a short call and the answers occasionally change a decision.
Check the roof covering while you are at it. Panels outlast most coverings, salt air and wind-driven rain are hard on them, and a covering within a few years of replacement should be replaced first rather than paying later to remove and reinstall the array.
What the system earns the rest of the time
Resilience is one reason to buy, but the everyday economics in New Jersey are strong on their own. Full retail net metering credits each kilowatt hour your system produces over the course of a year, either by offsetting electricity delivered by the grid or through a credit after a month of net excess generation.
On top of that the Administratively Determined Incentive pays on generation, with one SREC-II created per 1,000 kilowatt hours, guaranteed for a term of 15 years. Two revenue streams is why New Jersey pays back faster than its sun hours would suggest.
Those streams need two meters. New Jersey's Clean Energy Program states that the metering used for netting and crediting cannot measure gross generation for REC or SREC creation, and that relying on one meter for both would leave the customer-generator short changed. Confirm a separate Solar Production Meter is included.
Ask for the bill savings, the incentive income and the value you place on outage cover to be discussed separately rather than blended into one number. They are different things, and only two of them can be put in a spreadsheet honestly.
Two exemptions, and neither one happens by itself
New Jersey exempts solar energy equipment from state sales tax, but the exemption has a procedure and it happens at purchase. Under N.J.A.C. 18:24-26.4 the purchaser must issue to the seller an Exempt Use Certificate, Form ST-4, or other approved form, indicating on its face that the purchase qualifies for exemption as a solar energy system, with the installation property address inserted.
Ask your installer how that is handled and confirm the certificate was issued rather than assuming the price you were quoted already reflects it. It goes to the seller as part of the transaction, not to the state on a return later.
The property tax exemption is separate. Qualifying renewable energy systems are exempt from real property taxation under N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.113a to g, but Form CRES, the Certification of Renewable Energy System, must be filed with your local municipal tax assessor, and the system must be certified by the local construction code official.
The annual exemption is the difference between the total assessed value of the property before and after the system has been installed. Nobody files Form CRES for you by default, so ask whether your installer assists and put it on your own list either way. Requirements vary between municipalities, so a short call to your own assessor asking what they need is worth more than any general guidance.