Yokemate of Keyboards
Posts: 4977 from 2009/1/28
From: Delaware, USA
Quote:ASiegel wrote:
Quote:
amigadave wrote:
I just attended the tail end of a local Solar Electric meeting for the neighbors around me, a few weeks ago. There is one of my neighbors who is a salesman for a Solar Electric panel manufacture, and they also sell the rest of the components needed for homeowners to DIY a solar system for their home. I thought that only licensed electrical contractors could install solar electric panels on a home, but the salesman said NO, and that I could do all the work myself. I think he is misleading me, and the rest of the people at the meeting, and that a licensed contractor must supervise, or do the work, to connect any electrical equipment to the meter panel. I also think that the electric service provider must be notified, and approve the installation of any equipment that is capable of feeding excess electrical power back into the "Electric Grid", or Power System.
You do need to get a permit from your utility company.
That being said, not all solar installations are connected to the grid. So, it really depends on the use case.
I don't know if permit is the correct word, but the grid tie inverter must be approved by your utility company and the work must meet your local electrical code.
Also, in my area the building inspectors are insisting on roofing with a 25-plus lifespan be installed under the panels to assure that the roof will remain water tight over the lifespan of the panels.
If the proper building permits are applied for, the work is done according to code, and it is inspected by your building inspectors and your utility company, it might be possible to do the work yourself.
It's really a matter of how competant you are at electrical wiring and basic mechanical work.
"Never attribute to malice what can more readily explained by incompetence"
