Can you put solar panels on a tile roof in Florida?

• Tile hooks reach under the tile to the roof deck, and the tile is notched or trimmed so it sits flat over the hook.
• Tile replacement mounts swap a tile for a metal flashing piece shaped like the tile, with the mount bolted through it to the deck.

In Florida, the sub-flashing under each mount is flashed on all four sides, following the state's high-wind tile installation manual, and every penetration needs approved deck or underlayment flashing plus tile flashing. Concrete and clay tiles can crack during installation, so ask your installer to keep matching spares.

Yes, because tile takes more labor and parts than shingle. We found no independent figure for the extra cost; Florida installers' own estimates commonly run a few hundred to a few thousand dollars more, and more for clay barrel tile than for flat concrete tile.

Ask each installer to itemize the tile adder separately so you can compare quotes, and check the total with the solar quote checker. See what solar costs in Florida.

• Approved mounts in hurricane zones. In Miami-Dade and Broward's High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, roof attachments need product approval. Unirac's FLASHKIT tile replacement mount, for example, carries a Miami-Dade approval (NOA 25-0311.14).
• Permit details. Miami-Dade's solar permit guideline asks for a roof penetration flashing detail, and a reroof needs its own roof permit. The county lists failed penetration flashing among common plan rejections and says panels shouldn't go in certain corner zones of the roof.
• Tile rules are tightening. The 9th edition of the Florida Building Code applies to permits filed from December 31, 2026. Miami-Dade now requires product approval for underlayments used under roof tile, and the revised high-wind tile standard requires tile fasteners to go 3/4 inch into the roof sheathing even when battens are used.

Your installer handles the engineering and permit, but these rules are why a tile job takes more time and costs more than a shingle one.

Concrete is usually easier. Clay tile is more brittle, and SolarReviews and Solar.com both say solar on clay costs more than on concrete. SolarReviews recommends tile replacement mounts or double flashing on clay rather than cutting tiles. Either way, ask how many spare tiles the installer will have on hand for breakage.

A comp-out removes the tile under the array, installs shingle roofing there, mounts the panels on the shingles and sets tile back around the edges. It's faster for the installer, but SolarReviews recommends against it on clay tile because water can still run off the panels and work under the tile below. In Florida, it also means roofing work that needs its own permit and flashing details. Ask each installer which method they use.

Plan for it before you sign. The Tile Roofing Industry Alliance keeps a list of concrete tile profiles once sold in Florida that are now obsolete and don't interlock with tiles made today. If yours is on it, broken tiles may have to be replaced with salvaged tile or a close match. Ask the installer to confirm your profile and set aside spares from the job. See solar panels on a metal roof if you're reroofing anyway.

Compare the roof's remaining life with the solar system's 25-plus years. The tiles themselves often outlast the underlayment beneath them, and it's the underlayment that keeps water out, so ask a roofer to check it before you sign a solar contract.

If the roof needs work within the next several years, do it first. Taking panels off and putting them back for a reroof costs about $1,500 to $6,000, according to EnergySage. A newer roof also helps with insurance; see solar and home insurance in Florida.

If panels are already on the roof, see removing and reinstalling solar panels for a new roof.

It's usually the easiest roof for solar. On a standing-seam metal roof, panels attach with clamps that grip the seams, with no holes through the roof, and S-5! clamps earned Florida product approval for the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone in 2024.

Some towns restrict metal roofs, as Gulf Stream does, so check local and HOA rules before switching roof types. See solar panels on a metal roof.

Well-attached systems have generally held up. After Hurricane Ian in 2022, a Florida installer reported that most of its systems survived; the exception it described was panel uplift at one corner of a flat-roof commercial array in Cape Coral.

See can solar panels survive a hurricane in Florida for what the code requires and the questions to ask your installer.