William, our city inspectors have moved a bit into this direction for some inspections... asking for specific photos fairly similar to the list you were given. While I feel that the inspection process on typical residential (and commercial of all sizes, for that matter) often, but not always, falls terribly short of adequate, in my opinion, I agree with you that the system you described warrants a closer, in person inspection. I would think a follow-up phone call to ask questions would at least help a bit. Maybe if you have (Code) questions about what you did then you should request one?
Cheers, Benn Kilburn SkyFire Energy 780-906-7807 > On Mar 31, 2021, at 10:48 AM, William Miller <will...@millersolar.com> wrote: > > Friends: > > We just finished a grid-tied project that included a pretty complicated > service upgrade. The project is in Monterey County, California. The site is > pretty remote on the south end of the Big Sur coastline and Highway 1 is > closed (as is not uncommon) to the north with a washout. This makes it time > consuming for an inspector to reach the site, but even without the washout > the travel time is measured in hours. > > Days in advance we scheduled the final inspection on the building department > web-site as is SOP and were awarded a slot for yesterday. Yesterday morning > an inspector called at 7:30 AM to announce they were too busy to make the > appointment. Instead I was directed to take a series of photographs to > verify the validity of our installation work. Below is the list they > provided. Note how vague the requirements are, particularly the fifth one. > I was told that this process will be standard operation procedure for the > County of Monterey in the near future for solar installs. > > This seems wrong to me. I can’t believe that any collection of photographs > can accurately portray if even the most simple photovoltaic system, let alone > one with a 300 amp CT service and 400 amp transfer switch, is installed > correctly. I know in the 1980s the solar water heating industry had acquired > a collective black-eye due to shoddy installation procedures and I fear this > is where the PV industry may be headed. > > I submitted a handful of photos and was granted a final approval. I have > very mixed feelings about this “success.” I feel like I cheated on a test. > > I am curious if any of you have had a similar experience to this. As always > I am informed and sometimes amused by what I learn on this forum. > > List of requested photographs: > > ☐ PV module model number, quantity, and location according to the approved > plan. > ☐ Roof penetrations flashed/sealed according to the approved plan. > ☐ Array exposed cables are properly secured, supported, and routed to prevent > physical damage. > ☐ Grounding/bonding of rack and modules according to the manufacturer’s > installation instructions. > ☐ Equipment installed, listed and labeled according to the approved plan > (e.g., PV modules, dc/dc converters, combiners, inverters, rapid shutdown > equipment). > ☐ Overcurrent devices are the type and size according to the approved plan. > ☐ Disconnects according to the approved plan and properly located as required > by the NEC. > ☐ PV system markings, labels and signs according to the approved plan. > ☐ Connection of the PV system to the grounding electrode system according to > the approved plan. > ☐ Access and working space for operation and maintenance of PV equipment such > as inverters, disconnecting means and panelboards (not required for PV > modules) [NEC 110.26]. > ☐ The rapid shutdown system is installed and operational according to the > approved plan [NEC 690.12]. > > > William Miller > > Miller Solar > 17395 Oak Road, Atascadero, CA 93422 > 805-438-5600 > www.millersolar.com > CA Lic. 773985 > > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the > other: > https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/ > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > http://www.members.re-wrenches.org >
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