I should have been more clear. This is the Wholesale Solar forum, and I purchased the package from them. They use the IronRidge rail system, and for the IronRidge portion of the package I did that design myself instead of having Wholesale Solar do it. For ground mounts the IronRidge system is more than rails - it includes all of the permit engineering, and the adapters and caps to connect their rails to the 3" galvanized pipe that makes up the framework. The 3" galvanized pipe you source locally. I did not bother providing a link to either Wholesale solar or Ironridge - figured they are large enough players but for completeness: http://www.wholesalesolar.com/ http://www.ironridge.com/
I found the IronRidge system easy to configure and when I submitted my permit app, I just included the three pages from their design tool and the building department had no issues with the ground mount design - guy at the desk told me that they have done enough IronRidge systems so as long as you take the soil, snow, and wind defaults in the design tool - they approve it. I do live in a rural area and the building department here is very friendly - as is the AHJ.
What I did find from wholesale solar is they they tend to charge quite a bit for accessories - you get a good deal on the package but if you add extras it starts to add up. If I had known that I could have saved some dollars by shopping around for the misc stuff.
Wholesale solar has a good selection of documents and links that I found helpful during the initial learning phase. Same with Enphase and they have a good webinar on PG&E NEM 2.0 changes that really lite a fire under me to get my system done before NEM 1.0 ends. Knock on wood - I'm busting every free moment for the next month trying to get it finished.
One good point I want to make about Wholesale solar was I ended up speaking with one of the system designers - not a sale guy - since my system is so far from the house and he was very helpful in my early understanding of the NEC on parallel conductors. Can't stress how important it was for me to get a copy of the NEC and make it my best friend back in May when I was working on the permit application. Heck I'm still looking stuff up on it just to double check items as I'm getting ready for the first inspection this coming Monday.
So overall - I would recommend a new person that is thinking about DYI solar to Wholesale solar for a first system. It will be very interesting (and most likely sad) to see how much effect PG&E NEM 2.0 has on the the solar market in PG&E areas of CA end of this year.
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Oh, I was confused. It sounded to me like Ironridge is marketing "complete systems" now?? Quote from OP, " I purchased an 80 panel microinverter IronRidge ground mount system from them as a package". Still confused, sorry.
Can you buy complete systems from a racking mfg.?Leave a comment:
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Hello tyab. I am (along with a lot of other members) looking forward to hearing how your installation goes. Keep us up to date on what happens. ThanksLeave a comment:
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Good experiance
I purchased an 80 panel microinverter IronRidge ground mount system from them as a package in early May 2016. Overall the pricing was ok but since then I have learned I could have saved a bit more if I shopped around. My emails were promptly answered, I had no issues with telephone contact. They assisted me on the initial permit electrical diagrams but I ended up modifying them myself for the actual permit I filed since I had unique challenges due to distance and having to break the mount into multiple mounts due to terrain.I did the IronRidge design myself (not hard - just use the tool on IronRidge www site and gave them access to the design) Wait for a sale before ordering. If this is your first system - not a bad way to go. If I ever do another system, I will put the packages together myself.
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