# I think it’s time to put solar on my house, I know nothing!



## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

I'm looking at doing this myself. I have a ton of shade here. I bought a used Solar Pathfinder which my wife mostly uses for her gardening business. From what I've seen a central inverter with power optimizers or micro inverters would be best for my house. With microinverters I have more flexibility to add onto down the line but they are more expensive. Both types are good of you have partial shade or less than ideal places to put them.

The regulations for permitting in my town are terrible though and I would never pay somebody to install it.

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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

From what I understand, the POCO won’t approve more KWH than you are currently using.... but once I go solar, I want to change my tanks lighting schedule from 3X 250W MH @ 4 hrs a day to 3X 400 watt halides for 6-7 hrs a day. Scalability would be nice


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

For what it’s worth, five.five-six, the solar guys around here are complete idiots. You probably have more experienced guys down there but, if you hire it out, watch them like a hawk.


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

99cents said:


> For what it’s worth, five.five-six, the solar guys around here are complete idiots. You probably have more experienced guys down there but, if you hire it out, watch them like a hawk.



Not going to do that.

I’m going to need a panel upgrade as well 

Just don’t have the space. 


The mysterious part of PV around here is getting tax credits and rebates. It can be several thousand dollars. But I think the parts have to be american made. 


It’s a lot more complicate than mounting a few PV panels, an inverter and landing a breaker.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

five.five-six said:


> Not going to do that.
> 
> I’m going to need a panel upgrade as well
> 
> ...


Gotcha.


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## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

five.five-six said:


> Not going to do that.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I've been looking at Mission modules.

I try to buy American to a fault. Plus they're made here in Texas. Even if it takes longer to save up I'd rather build with more domestic parts. I helped with a residential solar install and was surprised with how simple it was. 

We were installing them on houses and panels that had no business having them. I don't know what kind of scam that was.

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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

Odd, I thought there would be more guys on ET with PV experiance. Guess I’ll be the canary in this coal mine.


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## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

five.five-six said:


> Odd, I thought there would be more guys on ET with PV experiance. Guess I’ll be the canary in this coal mine.


Backstay seemed the most knowledgeable on the subject but I haven't seen him on here in a long time.

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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

I did my own house, but that certainly don't make me an expert at anything. The rebate paperwork was outsourced...... That's the part that intimidated me from going into pv as a side business. That and seeing all the instant pv installing companies that were staffed with shoe salesmen and landscapers who wanted to get em some of that cash that was raining down out of the sky.


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## CoolWill (Jan 5, 2019)

five.five-six said:


> Odd, I thought there would be more guys on ET with PV experiance. Guess I’ll be the canary in this coal mine.


I know a ton about PV and the mechanics. I know diddly about rebates.


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

​


CoolWill said:


> I know a ton about PV and the mechanics. I know diddly about rebates.



Looks liek the CA rebates are a thing of the past.


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## Bird dog (Oct 27, 2015)

five.five-six said:


> Looks liek the CA rebates are a thing of the past.


This may help...
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=california+rebates+for+solar


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## joe-nwt (Mar 28, 2019)

five.five-six said:


> Not exactly true, I know a few things about solar ... just enough to know that I don’t know enough.
> 
> My fish tank is gobbleing up the KWH, 3X250w metal halides HQI running at about 300 watts each for 4 hrs a day, I’d like to run them 6 hrs.
> 
> ...


A little off topic; have you considered an LED upgrade for your fish tank?


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

Bird dog said:


> This may help...
> https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=california+rebates+for+solar


It did help and at the end of the rabbit hole, I found this:



> Do I qualify?
> 
> Rebates for PG&E customers have been exhausted and the program is closed.
> 
> ...


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

I put a 5,000 watt system on my house. At the time I got the federal 30% tax credit and a state rebate. Sharp Panels and Sunnyboy inverter. Cost was 11,300 before the rebates. The state still has the SREC credits. They have been trading around $200 a credit. I get six credits a year. Mine was paid for in about three years. I think this will be my tenth year. The SREC credits go away after ten years. 

The Sharp panels are made in America. All my paperwork and shade analysis was done by a non-profit company that also sold the panels and inverter. I had to handle the local permit. 

My system only does a little over half of my electric needs. I wouldn’t worry about having to big a system. Probably isn’t going to happen with your electric needs. Spring and fall I run a surplus. Summer and winter I work it off and then some. It would be different if I had a ranch with the same square footage house. Then I would have been able to do maybe a 7,000W system. 

Install was pretty easy on a 8 on 12 asphalt roof. Sharp had a video to watch on the rack system. I liked the rack system. Seemed better than the studs you screw down to the roof. I think they changed their rack system though. 

Myself and a couple coworkers did it at the same time. So we helped each other. The company running the program was a partnership between NECA the IBEW and Sharp. It was a way to get everyone educated on it and possibly get contractors interested in it. I thought they had an office on each coast?


https://americansolarpartners.com/


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

This site says they found 185 incentive programs for your state. I don’t know if any apply to you. 

I guess the federal government is still doing the 30% tax credit?

http://programs.dsireusa.org/system...93.634229971.1554246246-1975667992.1554246246


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

I have been neglecting this thread but I have been actively pursuing PV all along. 

I have taken some NABCEP accreditation classes, found an engineering outfit that specializes in PV submittal and have received a complete drawings from them. 

I have opened an account with green tech, a CED subsidiary and major west coast PV wholesaler. 

I will be submitting my permits and NEM application this weekend. 


The funny thing is that initially, I was worried about the instillation on my tile roof but as it turns out the installation is the easy part, it’s all the planning and design considerations. Oh, and the money. I figure my 8.5 KVA system is going to cost me $13.5k with materials, new service and labor.


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## JoeSparky (Mar 25, 2010)

five.five-six said:


> My fish tank is gobbleing up the KWH, 3X250w metal halides




Fish tank, huh?


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

Yes, fishtank. That dirty weed grows under HPS lamps. 



JoeSparky said:


> Fish tank, huh?


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## JoeSparky (Mar 25, 2010)

five.five-six said:


> That dirty weed grows under HPS lamps.


Ok. You are the expert :wink:  :biggrin:


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

I’ll update my progress later but right now I am at the point where I’m wondering how to get the modules (panels) up to the roof. I have about 1/2 the mounts installed and will probably be installing the rails in a week or two.


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

If I remember right, I had two extension ladders with ladder jacks on them. Across the ladder jacks I had an adjustable pick that I own. The kind that slide maybe six to ten feet. I slid it out on the end of the jacks so that there was a gap between it and the gutter. I had a conduit and pulley set up higher on the ladders. The pick also make it safer standing so close to the edge. 

My roof is as steep a roof as I’m going to climb. I moved the ladders and pick across the roof where I was working when putting in the mounts. Maybe not when I got higher up because I could grab a lower mount if I was going to slide off the roof. I may have even tied a rope across the lower mounts as a last chance grab if sliding off. The pick was also nice just to be able to stand up straight every once in a while.


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## electric_mayhem (Apr 27, 2012)

Rent a shooting boom/lull for a weekend?
or an inclined hoist/ GEDA


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

Once all the supports are installed, the rails and modules go up really quickly though it is a 2 man job to install the panels. I’m doing this work in the evenings and weekends and with the heat, I really only have about 2 hrs in the evenings and 4-5 hrs in the mornings on weekends. 

Wednesday, got the last support installed

Thursday installed 1/2 the rails and optimizers (roof wiring)

Friday installed the other 1/2 of the rails and optimizers 

Saturday lifted the 26 modules (panels) on to the roof and installed 13 of them

Sunday, installed the other 13 modules and unboxed the inverter


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## emtnut (Mar 1, 2015)

five.five-six said:


> Once all the supports are installed, the rails and modules go up really quickly though it is a 2 man job to install the panels. I’m doing this work in the evenings and weekends and with the heat, I really only have about 2 hrs in the evenings and 4-5 hrs in the mornings on weekends.
> 
> Wednesday, got the last support installed
> 
> ...


That's some really good Dad-Son time :smile:

Thanks for sharing !


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

Hey guys, do me a favor. I don’t know if you watched the “unboxing video” but it’s on my kid’s Chanel. It would mean the world to him if a bunch of people watched it in youtube and liked it. 

You don’t need to subscribe or anything but if he got a few dozen likes he would be thrilled.


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

HertzHound said:


> If I remember right, I had two extension ladders with ladder jacks on them. Across the ladder jacks I had an adjustable pick that I own. The kind that slide maybe six to ten feet. I slid it out on the end of the jacks so that there was a gap between it and the gutter. I had a conduit and pulley set up higher on the ladders. The pick also make it safer standing so close to the edge.
> 
> My roof is as steep a roof as I’m going to climb. I moved the ladders and pick across the roof where I was working when putting in the mounts. Maybe not when I got higher up because I could grab a lower mount if I was going to slide off the roof. I may have even tied a rope across the lower mounts as a last chance grab if sliding off. The pick was also nice just to be able to stand up straight every once in a while.





electric_mayhem said:


> Rent a shooting boom/lull for a weekend?
> or an inclined hoist/ GEDA



I ended up getting some advice off that other electrical forum... I know right? Had no idea you could talk about electrical anywhere else. 

The advice was to pass the mods to someone on a lower section of the roof then pass them up to the section you are working on. We used out patio awning. I did brace it and place plywood on top for stability and 26 of those suckers at 40+ lbs is a lot of work but we got it done in about 2 hrs. 

the modules installed in about 4 hrs total. 

One thing that irks me is that I did watch all the solar edge CBTs and read the documentation supplied with the optimizers but only when I read the Manuel for the inverter did it say to take down the serial numbers from the optimizers. Now I have 3 choices, cover each mod with a blanket for 15 minutes, remove each panel and take down the serial number or leave my system unmapped.


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## emtnut (Mar 1, 2015)

five.five-six said:


> Hey guys, do me a favor. I don’t know if you watched the “unboxing video” but it’s on my kid’s Chanel. It would mean the world to him if a bunch of people watched it in youtube and liked it.
> 
> You don’t need to subscribe or anything but if he got a few dozen likes he would be thrilled.


Done, added a comment too. :smile: (Guess Mom didn't turn off comments yet:biggrin


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

emtnut said:


> Done, added a comment too. :smile: (Guess Mom didn't turn off comments yet:biggrin



Thanks!

Seeing likes, views and even comments on one of his videos will be better than Christmas for him


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

Alright, he’s thrilled with the 5 likes on his video even though: “One of those likes is from you dad!” Keep those likes rolling in.


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

Here is our latest unboxing video. Thank you for all the likes on the last vid, it made my son’s day!!


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

Most my work is in another county from where I live, as such I don’t have any subs to do the stucco repair around my service changeout. Any tips on how to patch that?


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

Well, all that's left now is to patch the stucco and I can call for inspection.


unfortunately, I am so booked up that it won't be until after memorial day.


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