Absolutely. A local jurisdiction can accept or amend any part of the NEC they want. Example in Chicago local code requires residential systems to be plumbed. That mean everything in conduit just to make sure Joe Home Owner has to use a union electrician to do any work. Several large cities have extra requirements, and can even make them up if the inspector does not like you for any reason. Since you have no experience, here are the two Golden Rules for a happy marriage and passing Inspections. Folloow these two rules to the letter.
1. Inspector and Wifey are always correct.
2. When Inspector and Wifey are in error, refer to rule 1.
AC Disconnect: Visible to Firefighter or Visible to Solar Tech? California.
Collapse
X
-
Leave a comment:
-
The "International Association of Fire Fighters" has an online training course on solar:
With consumers going solar in nearly every state, the likelihood that fire fighters will encounter solar electric systems on residential and commercial
Have a view to get the same training as an actual fire fighter, to better understand what's done.
With more and more solar houses, more and more crews have actual experience with solar.
I've decided to add an extra sticker to this install, at the service entrance, that specifies two things:
The location of inverter (on the other side of the wall)
The fact that the unit has "rapid shutdown".
So that the fire crew, should that ever be an issue. won't feel a need to do more than pull the meter.Last edited by brycenesbitt; 05-26-2020, 12:54 PM.Leave a comment:
-
I thought they just used a hose and rinsed them off the roof !Leave a comment:
-
Kind of a stupid silly question. First thing the FD does when they pull up to a house fire with solar on the roof is pull the DISCONNECT disconnect and SMASH ALL THE PANELS WITH A FIRE AXE. . Who gives a crap about the Technician. Follow the codes.Leave a comment:
-
Hopefully if you have a fire there is sufficient separation that your wooden ground mount arrays would not burn down. Leave a comment:
-
If you pull the meter, then your array can't feed the grid. But assuming that the rapid shutdown isn't there, can't your array still feed the house? Could a fireman swinging an axe into a wall of the house hit a live wire? Assuming that your array is treated like a backup generator, the output would still be live after the meter is pulled. That's not the way solar works, but that's the way the rules are written.
that covers it. The installer thought so (if he did think about it), I had previously worried about running
several hundred feet of AC underground wire to place the AC disconnects near the meter.
I doubt there would be any axes through my brick walls. Bruce Roe
Leave a comment:
-
If you pull the meter, then your array can't feed the grid. But assuming that the rapid shutdown isn't there, can't your array still feed the house? Could a fireman swinging an axe into a wall of the house hit a live wire? Assuming that your array is treated like a backup generator, the output would still be live after the meter is pulled. That's not the way solar works, but that's the way the rules are written.Leave a comment:
-
If you pull the meter, then your array can't feed the grid. But assuming that the rapid shutdown isn't there, can't your array still feed the house? Could a fireman swinging an axe into a wall of the house hit a live wire? Assuming that your array is treated like a backup generator, the output would still be live after the meter is pulled. That's not the way solar works, but that's the way the rules are written.Leave a comment:
-
I do not know how the disconnect question applies to a ground mount array. My boxes are 230 feet from
the array and 270 feet from the house meter. Certainly not visible from the house, but pulling the house
meter will shut all AC down. Bruce RoeLeave a comment:
-
Newer inverters shut down when the meter is pulled. Older inverters varied. Insisting on a safety disconnect means that they emergency crew (firefighter, etc.) doesn't have to think about the age of the system. Pull disconnect and the line is assuredly cut.
That said, there's still hundreds of volts coming out of the panel string. Let's hope that the installation has the panel string floating so touching one wire and earth doesn't kill you. That has been a requirement for inverters for many years now.Leave a comment:
-
Well, very little trouble to put in the AC disconnect; they cost $10-15 and are a good way to transition to the metal conduit that AHJ wants to see once going into the house. There is a stud wall perpendicular to the exterior wall of house, and the main panel is recessed into that stud wall, with its edge right up against the exterior wall. So I figure I'll mount the AC disconnect right there, slightly above the top height of the panel, and come out the rear of the disconnect with metal, into the side of the stud wall and down into a knockout in the main panel. Use PVC conduit to get from inverter into bottom of disconnect.
Leave a comment:
-
Leave a comment:
-
My impression was that it's more for if the POCO is having weirdness on the grid and wants to remove the PV from the equation:
"In order to comply with the Final Rule of the Rural Utilities Service regarding the Interconnection of Distributed Resources (IDR) as codified at 7 C.F.R. Part 1730, Subpart C, the Cooperative requires that the Interconnection Facilities shall include a lockable disconnect and visible open EDS that is readily accessible to and operable by authorized Cooperative personnel at all times. The EDS is a manual load break disconnect switch or safety switch with a clear visible indication of switch position between the Cooperative System and the Interconnection Member. The switch must have pad lock provisions for locking in the open position. The switch must be visible to, and accessible to, Cooperative personnel. The switch must be in close proximity to, and on the Interconnection Member’s side of the point of electrical interconnection with, the Cooperative's System. The switch must be labeled "Generator Disconnect Switch.” The switch may isolate the Interconnection Member and its associated load from the Cooperative 's System or disconnect only the Generator from the Cooperative 's System and shall be accessible to the Cooperative at all times. The Cooperative, in its sole discretion, determines if the switch is suitable and necessary."Last edited by RShackleford; 05-26-2020, 12:50 PM.Leave a comment:
-
And just to be clear, when the fire department hits the main, or pulls the meter, the inverter shuts down.
The only need for a "disconnect within reach of the equipment" is for electricians unfamiliar with
circuit breaker lockouts ( e.g. https://www.garvinindustries.com/pan.../one-pole/ubl1 ).Leave a comment:
Leave a comment: