District coverage, answered 24/7
Solar panels for Petworth porch-front rowhouses, next door to our office
Petworth sits right next to 16th Street Heights, where our service office is. Its porch-front rowhouses are some of the most common solar roofs we see: a flat main roof, a porch roof below it, and an electrical panel that has often been updated piecemeal.
Solar in Petworth at a glance
- Our office
- Next door, on 14th St NW
- Typical house
- Porch-front rowhouse
- Solar credits
- DC SRECs
- Updated
- October 2026
Short answer
Solar in Petworth usually goes on the flat main roof of a porch-front rowhouse, on a low rack behind the parapet, and earns full DC SRECs. Because many of these houses are close to a century old, we check the main electrical panel at the first visit, since an older or full panel is the most common thing that changes the job.
The houses
Porch-front rowhouses and their roofs
An HPRB staff report on a Grant Circle house describes the porch-fronted rowhouse as ubiquitous in Petworth. For solar, that means two roofs: the main roof, which carries the array, and the porch roof, which is usually too small and too visible to be worth using.
Main roofs between party walls take a low tilted rack well. We keep panels back from the front parapet, clear of the hatch and the neighbors' roofs, and check how much shade a taller house next door casts in winter.
The electrical panel
Why the basement matters as much as the roof
About 35 percent of DC housing was built in 1939 or earlier, and many of those houses have electrical panels that were added to over the decades. A full or 100 amp panel can limit how solar connects, so we read the main panel at the first visit and price any work it needs alongside the solar.
Often a supply-side connection or a smaller main breaker avoids a full upgrade. When an upgrade is needed, doing it with the solar install keeps it to one shutdown.
How a job runs
A short trip from our office
Our service office at 4702 14th St NW is in 16th Street Heights, beside Petworth, so first visits and follow-ups are short trips. After the roof and panel check come the design, the DC permit, the Pepco interconnection, installation, inspection and permission to operate.
Then we certify the system for DC SRECs, which sold for about $360 to $455 each in 2026.
Side by side
Why District solar pays more than solar over the line
| Washington, DC | Nearby Maryland and Virginia | |
|---|---|---|
| Solar credits | DC SRECs, $360 to $455 each in 2026 | Maryland about $40, Virginia about $22.50 to $35 |
| Who qualifies | Only systems inside the District | Systems in each state |
| Net metering | Full retail with Pepco | Full retail in Maryland, one to one with Dominion |
Work we do in Petworth
Petworth jobs we take on
Rowhouse & Flat Roof Solar
Low racks on the main roof behind the parapet.
See this job about Rowhouse & Flat Roof SolarElectrical Panel Upgrade for Solar
Panel work in houses close to a century old.
See this job about Electrical Panel Upgrade for SolarSolar Battery Installation
Backup batteries for the circuits you need.
See this job about Solar Battery InstallationEV Charger Installation
Level 2 charging off the rear alley.
See this job about EV Charger InstallationCritter Guard & Pigeon Proofing
Mesh that keeps pigeons out from under the rack.
See this job about Critter Guard & Pigeon ProofingStraight answers
Solar questions from Petworth
Yes, usually on the flat main roof behind the parapet. The porch roof is rarely worth using.
Sometimes. We check it at the first visit and price any work it needs with the solar.
Our service office is at 4702 14th St NW in 16th Street Heights, right next to Petworth.
Yes. Every certified system inside the District earns DC SRECs.
Tell us what you want the system to do
Give us the address and the goal: lower bills, backup power, an EV charger or a fix. We will say plainly whether it fits and what the job involves.
Phones answered 24/7 from our 4702 14th St NW office.
Call us, or find the office
- Phone
- (202) 978-0232
- Hours
- Answered 24 hours a day, every day
- Service office
- 4702 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20011
- Head office
- 743 South Route 73, Berlin, NJ 08009
Map of our service office at 4702 14th St NW, Washington, DC. It loads only when you ask for it.