Yes, at least for me, the meter ran forward even with negative use until I got PTO. (Permission to Operate) For that, They didn't come out at all, and the meter is relatively old. After about 4 months they did come out and upgrade the pole pig that feeds my house from a 15kW to a 25kW unit. My line voltage at peak sun is sometimes still a little high at over 125V, but that's within tolerance.
On Wed, Apr 23, 2025 at 6:58 PM Lawrence Winiarski < [email protected]> wrote: > One point about DIY install. Once you get a grid tied system set up and > the meter is programmed, you can probably get away with outrageous guerilla > solar install increases and modifications. The new meters around here seem > to be programmed "initially" so that the meter counts up the kw, regardless > of the direction, so if you put in a big solar install and don't reprogram > the meter, it will actually increase the bill until they program the meter > to account for reverse power. I guess it's to discourage guerilla solar > installs. > > The meter appears to be programmed optically with some contraption that > shines some LED's into it with a pattern. It didn't take long. > > But once it's programmed, with a single meter, the power company doesn't > know the mix, and doesn't care. They see 1kw of use at the meter and > don't know if it's 1kw of use, or 10kw of use and 9kw of solar. So if you > permit and install a single 100W panel, they program the smart meter, but > after they leave and go home, you can probably pull out 10kw out from > behind the bushes and install them and no one cares for years. Don't ask > me how I know. > > I eventually got 24+kw ground mount installation permitted so I could > sleep easy. > > IMHO doing a tiny installation isn't that bad. You figure how to jump > through the hoops, get to know the inspector, figure out which people are a > pain in the ass and how to avoid them and go right to the people you > need. I had a particularly invasive land-use-type bureacrat who wanted > all sorts of construction permits and surveying and a super nice > electrical inspector who had a lot of common sense and a power company who > really just wanted the sign-off from the electrical inspector, so, to be > honest I just got the electrical permit and didn't bother with the > construction permit or siting permit which was a bunch of baloney anyway. > > So jumping through the hoops is not "that" big of deal, but if you want to > play it safe go for a small install first, get to know the inspector and > what he's looking for, do a good job > and don't argue. After that, the sky's the limit. > > > > > On Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 04:09:48 PM PDT, (-Phil-) via EV < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > Luckily in CA, at least in my county, they allow owner-install with a > permit. I installed my own 9kW system with no issues and it passed > inspection first try. I'm an EE but not a licensed Electrician or Solar > installer. > > On Wed, Apr 23, 2025 at 4:06 PM Roger Daisley via EV <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > That would be a big code violation and likely a very big fine by L&I in > > Washington State. In WA, your volunteers can not even mount racking, even > > with a Journeyman electrician "supervising." (Racking is considered > > "electrical equipment.") > > If a volunteer even so much as touched a wire, L&I would probably go for > > the Death Penalty ... After they drained their bank account! If a > licensed > > electrician was on-site and helped in any way, he/she would also likely > get > > their bank account substantially lowered. > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: EV <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Cor van de Water via > EV > > Sent: Tuesday, April 1, 2025 7:11 PM > > To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List <[email protected]> > > Cc: Cor van de Water <[email protected]> > > Subject: Re: [EVDL] Dumped by two solar providers. > > > > Hi Lawrence, > > The non-profit Sunwork.org specifically targets the solar installations > > for people that have too small energy bills to be interesting for the big > > installers. > > Not sure if they will do installs in the city, most of their projects are > > around the south bay area, but it can't hurt to ask them. > > Their model is that you buy the system outright, they charge their cost > > while their manhours are reduced by doing the install with volunteers, > > supervised by one of their staff, who also does the design, permitting > and > > signoff. > > Full disclosure: I am a volunteer solar installer, trained by Sunwork and > > participated in several of their local installations. > > Cor. > > > > On Tue, Apr 1, 2025 at 6:59 PM Lawrence Rhodes via EV <[email protected] > > > > wrote: > > > > > > First Solarsesame backed out. Then Tesla did. The Tesla reason was we > > didn't have the room for 10 panels. Who can do a challenging installation > > for a good price using permits. I just got hit by State Farm just for > > having a messy yard and storing wood under a staircase. Lawrence > > Rhodes....Got my insurance back and a clean back yard. > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was > > > scrubbed... > > > URL: > > > <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20250402/7f > > > fd833f/attachment.htm> _______________________________________________ > > > Address messages to [email protected] > > > No other addresses in TO and CC fields > > > HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/ > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Address messages to [email protected] > > No other addresses in TO and CC fields > > HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Address messages to [email protected] > > No other addresses in TO and CC fields > > HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/ > > > > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: < > http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20250423/d463e40d/attachment.htm > > > > _______________________________________________ > Address messages to [email protected] > No other addresses in TO and CC fields > HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/ > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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