DIY Self-Install in San Diego - 7.84 kW for < $1.30 / W

[sensij]

A few more pictures. All the wiring is done, yellow conduit labels replaced with red, and 22 of 28 panels installed.

I used a Wiley ACE-2P passthrough from the roof to the attic, here is what it looks like: j-box open.JPG
j-box closed.JPG




Bonding is done by the integrated ground hardware mating the Iron Ridge, Canadian Solar, and SolarEdge equipment. The anodization on the clear and black rails definitely acts as an insulator, but in all of the places where continuity can be evaluated, it checked out. I tested a couple of panels in different sections of the array, as well as the rails which are only bonded through the panel frames. bonding.JPG



I've got an inspection scheduled for Monday. The system on my old house combined the rough and final inspection together. If this inspector wants to do a rough inspection of the mounting system, I'll have to uninstall panels to do it. I'm hoping these pictures will suffice, along with one or two more showing that the rails were attached to the hooks correctly. If it all looks done well enough, maybe he won't see the need to take it apart again.

One thing I appreciate better now... my roof is really wavy. Using fixed spacers to offset the rails from the tiles was a bad idea, I should have used string to set the heights of each rail in a single plane. I was able to make some adjustments as the problems became clearer (>0.5" height mismatch between rows in some places), but it isn't perfect. I think it is fine from any realistic viewing distance and angle at this point, but just a lesson learned to file away for later.

[sensij]

More pictures

labels - 1.JPG

For 690.56(B)

placard - 1.JPG

Current state of the roof:

roof - 1.JPG

roof - 2.JPG

[sensij]

Where did you get your labels? They are not code compliant.
690.31 G(4) requires labels to be Red with White lettering. They are also required to say "WARNING" not "CAUTION".
This may change in the 2020 NEC, but it still stands as of 2017 code.

Dang, I got them from pvlabels.com, and yeah, it looks like their filtering system isn't right. Looks like the more specific requirements are new for 2014... selecting 2014 NEC should probably have returned only red labels, but it doesn't. Thanks! I'll need to double-check the other labels now, too.

[emartin00]

Where did you get your labels? They are not code compliant.
690.31 G(4) requires labels to be Red with White lettering. They are also required to say "WARNING" not "CAUTION".
This may change in the 2020 NEC, but it still stands as of 2017 code.

[J.P.M.]

FWIW, most of your garage looks just like mine - even the fancy door.

[sensij]

The rest of the conduit is in, and all the wire is pulled for now. I've made some more progress on the roof, 15 of 28 panels installed now. Still haven't gotten a good picture of progress up there, but I'll try to get one soon. At this rate, I'm just going to plow ahead with the inverter where it is at. If the inspector doesn't like it, I can have a conversation with him in that moment about a couple of other locations in the garage that I would consider. If needed, it will probably only cost $100 in additional conduit and wire to move, not bad at this stage.

I had some better success with the AC conduit... got the offset into the wall and three 90's in two planes to all line up nicely above the entrance to the MSP. The two 90's on the AC side closer to the inverter didn't come out quite as good, but I can live with it. garage - 1a.JPG
garage - 2.JPG
garage - 3.JPG
garage -4.JPG
garage - 5.JPG




The extra sheetrock cut here was leftover from when I wired the 240 V EVSE to charge my Spark EV, using the armored cable.

[J.P.M.]

》>>> bit unconventional in that it will be mounted with 8" clearance to the ceiling of the garage, above the built-in closets. As far as I can tell, as long as clearances are maintained there is no requirement that it be at ground level.

Not that it means much, but my installer fought back with raising my inverter above 6 feet (the top above 6) saying it had to be "accessible" and the inspector would be a stickler so don't put anything in front of it or within 18 inches of each side of it. I wanted mine up high so i could put cabinets under it just like yours. Good luck.

Sensij: Good point on clearance(s). I missed that one. Depending on your AHJ, you may need to have clear access in front of the inverter. Example: My AHJ (county, not city as you know) made me remove a workbench section in front of the inverter. I've a friend/neighbor who's a county AHJ (not mine BTW) who confirmed the county can enforce clearances that way. Maybe a phone call ?

[sensij]

》>>> bit unconventional in that it will be mounted with 8" clearance to the ceiling of the garage, above the built-in closets. As far as I can tell, as long as clearances are maintained there is no requirement that it be at ground level.

Not that it means much, but my installer fought back with raising my inverter above 6 feet (the top above 6) saying it had to be "accessible" and the inspector would be a stickler so don't put anything in front of it or within 18 inches of each side of it. I wanted mine up high so i could put cabinets under it just like yours. Good luck.

Yeah, I think 110.26 is the only specific code that applies, and what I've done could be interpreted as compliant, or non-compliant, depending on who is looking at it. There is nothing specifically against using a ladder for serviceability, we have transformers and other electrical equipment all over the place where I work that require a ladder to access. I think the important thing is that it is serviceable, and there is plenty of space here to open it up. I've seen plenty of examples locally with inverters (and even disconnects) on the roof, my bigger concern is whether reaching over the cabinet classifies this as inaccessible, even though in practice, I'd just sit on the cabinet to work on it.

[cebury]

》>>> bit unconventional in that it will be mounted with 8" clearance to the ceiling of the garage, above the built-in closets. As far as I can tell, as long as clearances are maintained there is no requirement that it be at ground level.

Not that it means much, but my installer fought back with raising my inverter above 6 feet (the top above 6) saying it had to be "accessible" and the inspector would be a stickler so don't put anything in front of it or within 18 inches of each side of it. I wanted mine up high so i could put cabinets under it just like yours. Good luck.

[SunEagle]

The conduit bend reminds me of when I practiced with our electrical dept hand bender. Mine was much less pretty then yours.

Besides the heat build up above it, the only other thing I see as a disadvantage is that you will need to work off a ladder anytime you go into that inverter. You might consider some type of tie off so you don't hurt yourself if you fall.

[sensij]

Got the inverter up last night. The ceiling in this area of the garage is the floor of a bedroom, with about 9" of mostly insulated space for the floor joists. Definitely not the ideal location for thermal management. Also not ideal for transmission loss, it is about 40 ft from the array junction box, and about 40 ft away from the MSP. I'd rather have more of the run on the DC side to minimize loss. It does meet the aesthetic requirements though, and supports my goal of no exterior conduit. I'm glad to get the feedback on potential issues to watch out for once it is in operation, and am really glad SolarEdge makes it easy to keep an eye on temperature.

It still needs a label and a strap within 3 ft of the termination. A strap over the kink in the conduit is a good spot, and will help hide that oops... I think I put the offset bend too close to the 90, and didn't successfully make both bends without the conduit giving out.

inverter.JPG

[J.P.M.]

Thank you. If the gar. roof/interior ceiling temp. is elevated, that and the 8" clearance will change the nat. convection driving forces a bit. It'll probably be OK. Just some random thoughts that crossed my mind, and perhaps for the back of yours if inverter temps are higher than expected or as f(time of day).

[sensij]

The inverter is mounted to an interior wall of the garage. Below is a picture to help explain.

This is the front of the house, which is west facing. Half of the south wall of the garage is exposed on the exterior (but shadowed) at the front door entry, the other half makes up an interior wall leading in from the front door. The inverter is on that south wall, in deep in the garage where it forms the interior wall. Conduit will run across the ceiling of the garage and through the north wall, which is where the MSP is located.

The garage temperature is very moderate since it has very little south facing exposure, and this wall in particular is insulated and doesn't noticeably warm. The garage door can get warm once the sun gets far enough west, but it doesn't raise the temperature of the garage too much. The hardest room in the house to keep comfortable is the 2nd story, southwest corner... in the upper right of the picture.

All this to say, I think the min clearances have a chance at being sufficient. SolarEdge makes inverter temperature data available for monitoring, so I can see if it ends up warming more than I am expecting. Adding a fan should be feasible if needed... the wall insulation would probably do a good job of muffling any sound that might carry through into that hallway.

(BTW.... not my car... this picture was before we moved in last year, I guess)

street view.JPG

[J.P.M.]

Thanx for the info.

I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this, but just to be sure: The inverter is wall mounted ? If so, is it a north wall ?

The 7600A-US inverter (yours, right ?) manual/spec sheet says it has an internal fan, but given the likely or possible garage roof temps., natural convection across the exterior fins may be impeded a bit if the interior roof temp. (or wall temp.) is warm and the clearance is minimum - the driving temp. differences will be less and slow down the bulk air velocity, reducing cooling capacity. Any clearance considerations for perhaps adding a fan under the fins if things get hot ? I sort of wonder if the 8" overhead spec. sheet min. top clearance is still good if/when mounting on/near warm(er) surfaces. Just a thought.

FWIW, I knock about 10 deg. C. out of the inverter operating temp. by using a fan and reduce the temp. diff. inverter operating temp. to garage amb. temp. from ~ 30 C. to ~ 20 C. under full load.

[sensij]

Conduit run from the roof to the garage is complete, with the wires pulled. I'll have the inverter up in the next day or two... a little bit unconventional in that it will be mounted with 8" clearance to the ceiling of the garage, above the built-in closets. As far as I can tell, as long as clearances are maintained there is no requirement that it be at ground level.

7 panels are up, no pictures of that yet. Getting the alignment tweaked just right so that a 16 panel line tracks straight across the roof took a couple of attempts, but I think at this point it will build out without too much more adjustment. Iron Ridge's UFO fasteners are rough to work with using only a ratchet and torque wrench, next time I'm up there I'll try using a socket on a drill with the clutch set low and see if that goes more smoothly.

Pictures of the DC conduit run are below.

attic - 1.JPG


attic - 2.JPG

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attic - 4.JPG

garage - 1.JPG