Benn:
I have no questions about our work. I have questions about the competition’s work. I want to complete on equal footing: code compliant, quality installations. If houses start burning down due to poor solar installs the industry suffers, as does the effort to mitigate climate change. William Miller Solar 17395 Oak Road, Atascadero, CA 93422 805-438-5600 www.millersolar.com CA Lic. 773985 *From:* Benn Kilburn [mailto:[email protected]] *Sent:* Wednesday, March 31, 2021 12:25 PM *To:* [email protected]; RE-wrenches *Subject:* Re: [RE-wrenches] Odd inspection procedure William, our city inspectors have moved a bit into this direction for some inspections... asking for specific photos fairly similar to the list you were given. While I feel that the inspection process on typical residential (and commercial of all sizes, for that matter) often, but not always, falls terribly short of adequate, in my opinion, I agree with you that the system you described warrants a closer, in person inspection. I would think a follow-up phone call to ask questions would at least help a bit. Maybe if you have (Code) questions about what you did then you should request one? Cheers, Benn Kilburn SkyFire Energy 780-906-7807 On Mar 31, 2021, at 10:48 AM, William Miller <[email protected]> wrote: Friends: We just finished a grid-tied project <https://millersolar.com/MillerSolar/Portfolio/Rework/BIG-SUR-SERVICE/Big_Sur_Service_Upgrade.html> that included a pretty complicated service upgrade. The project is in Monterey County, California. The site is pretty remote on the south end of the Big Sur coastline and Highway 1 is closed (as is not uncommon) to the north with a washout. This makes it time consuming for an inspector to reach the site, but even without the washout the travel time is measured in hours. Days in advance we scheduled the final inspection on the building department web-site as is SOP and were awarded a slot for yesterday. Yesterday morning an inspector called at 7:30 AM to announce they were too busy to make the appointment. Instead I was directed to take a series of photographs to verify the validity of our installation work. Below is the list they provided. Note how vague the requirements are, particularly the fifth one. I was told that this process will be standard operation procedure for the County of Monterey in the near future for solar installs. This seems wrong to me. I can’t believe that any collection of photographs can accurately portray if even the most simple photovoltaic system, let alone one with a 300 amp CT service and 400 amp transfer switch, is installed correctly. I know in the 1980s the solar water heating industry had acquired a collective black-eye due to shoddy installation procedures and I fear this is where the PV industry may be headed. I submitted a handful of photos and was granted a final approval. I have very mixed feelings about this “success.” I feel like I cheated on a test. I am curious if any of you have had a similar experience to this. As always I am informed and sometimes amused by what I learn on this forum. List of requested photographs: ☐ PV module model number, quantity, and location according to the approved plan. ☐ Roof penetrations flashed/sealed according to the approved plan. ☐ Array exposed cables are properly secured, supported, and routed to prevent physical damage. ☐ Grounding/bonding of rack and modules according to the manufacturer’s installation instructions. ☐ Equipment installed, listed and labeled according to the approved plan (e.g., PV modules, dc/dc converters, combiners, inverters, rapid shutdown equipment). ☐ Overcurrent devices are the type and size according to the approved plan. ☐ Disconnects according to the approved plan and properly located as required by the NEC. ☐ PV system markings, labels and signs according to the approved plan. ☐ Connection of the PV system to the grounding electrode system according to the approved plan. ☐ Access and working space for operation and maintenance of PV equipment such as inverters, disconnecting means and panelboards (not required for PV modules) [NEC 110.26]. ☐ The rapid shutdown system is installed and operational according to the approved plan [NEC 690.12]. William Miller Miller Solar 17395 Oak Road, Atascadero, CA 93422 805-438-5600 www.millersolar.com CA Lic. 773985 _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: [email protected] Change listserver email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the other: https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: http://www.members.re-wrenches.org
_______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: [email protected] Change listserver email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the other: https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: http://www.members.re-wrenches.org
