Sunday, January 18, 2009

My solar power hits a snag -- the electrical inspector!

Well my solar power setup looked all ready to go until the electrical inspector inspected the system. Mary Ness, of the Washington State Dept. of Labor and Industries, cited two complaints, one was arguable either way, the second I found confusing. Apparently Dave Cozine has worked with inspectors that allowed photographs in lieu of climbing the roof  to inspect connections. Mary does not, and wanted the panels removed so she could inspect the Enphase quick-disconnects. I think we've resolved this issue, but we'll see Monday when the inspector comes again.

The lesson I take away from this is have your installer call the inspector before the install begins and ask what they want to see. Dave, who has a spotless record and excellent references, has worked with 47 different inspectors with few snags. But there are no standards between inspectors. There probably should be, but L&I hasn't set any in place.

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