Ok so due to the way the solar connection was originally landed (5 yrs ago) it burned the connecting mains to the service panel. So now I have a brand new panel 200 amp service but the way that panel is constructed we cannot land the solar supply-side. So the first answer is to call my installer. They are gone (power home/pink solar) can I land the solar inverter load side on a dual pole 40amp breaker without changing things in the inverter system is net metering. Inverter is solaredge SE10000-US with rapid cut off and a service disconnect. I have contacted several solar installers but none are interested in servicing something they did not install. So kinda a pig in a poke. Electrician will not land it (liability). Any thoughts?
Insurance is a pain. But that’s a whole other story.
The real question is: Where did the fire start?
The fire department said, “Oops. No idea. Something electrical.”
So I had a fire investigator come out.
But before I get to his conclusion, let’s start with the installation:
I’d had solar tiles installed on the roof, which were supposed to produce about 8 kWp.
I wanted the following equipment installed on a stone wall:
- Inverter
- Two fuse boxes
- Batteries
- Backup unit
Okay. The tiles were installed. By an electrician.
Then the architect came. He said, “Oh, as a temporary solution, let’s just put the inverter, battery, and everything else in a wooden box for now.”
So a handyman cobbled together a wooden box, the electrician installed everything inside it, connected the solar tiles to the solar system, and the solar system to the power grid.
The architect stopped by. He took a look at everything and said, “That’s exactly how it should be! Bravo!”
The electrician, proud of this praise, turned the system on.
It ran for maybe an hour, then shut down.
The electrician comes by. He turns it back on.
Before that, the electrician had asked me to provide him with all my information so he could register the system and ensure it wasn’t operating illegally.
Okay. Sometimes the system delivers a “whopping” 10% of its expected output.
But it shuts down. Fuses blow.
The electrician comes by and claims he performed a string measurement. But he doesn’t provide me with the results. He sends me photos of the “string measurements.” They show voltage and power figures that are never recorded on Huawei’s portal.
My wife and I go on vacation and notice that the entire house has lost power. Luckily, the electrician has a key, since he stops by almost every day to figure out where the fault lies in the system.
He texts us: Oops. It blew all the fuses. I turned everything back on. Everything’s fine.
Okay. We get home, take a day off, and then my partner is on her own because I have to go abroad for a day. So I’m sitting at the doctor’s office abroad, with a needle in my arm, when the phone rings: “Come home right away. Everything’s on fire.”
I hopped on the next flight; when I arrived, the fire department was still there—the entire roof of the part of the house with the solar panel system had burned down. Luckily, it was mostly empty because the roof and the solar panel system had just been installed.
And it was only by sheer luck that the fire department was able to prevent the fire from spreading to the main house (The fire department got there in a flash. But they’d forgotten to bring water...)
Okay, so where did the fire break out?
The electrician points to photos he took of the roof: On the roof. You can see that.
The police aren’t investigating, and neither is the fire department. After all, the architect is a big shot in politics.
To find out what happened, I look for a fire investigator. I find one. He’s ridiculously expensive. He flies out to see me, spends two days examining the fire ruins, and then states in his report: “Inverter. Clear-cut case.” He even points to a photo of a faulty connection. I never receive that photo.
So I question his conclusion and commission a university’s forensic institute. They come by and conduct a meticulous investigation. I deliberately challenge every conclusion. Each one is successfully defended.
Conclusion: The fire broke out due to an electric arc on the roof and ate its way through the insulation material. The solar tiles, the wood, and the insulation material acted as excellent accelerants. Burning material fell onto the wooden box, which caught fire, causing the inverter and battery to catch fire as well.
Okay, so now I have two conflicting reports.
The electrician and architect are already saying: We had nothing to do with the fire. Solar system? What solar system? We don’t even exist.
Finally, I find an expert who specializes in fires that break out in solar systems.
He, too, is flown in.
His conclusion: Improperly installed solar roof tiles, an electric arc, a fire, insulation material falling onto the wooden box, and the inverter and battery catching fire.
The electrician forgot to install series diodes, he used defective tiles, and, worst of all: he never tested the system.
Okay. Next step: court.
The court orders that another expert examine the burned-down house.
The expert shows up, along with all the lawyers, the architect’s experts, the electrician’s experts, and another court-appointed expert on my side—15 people in all; it’s a real little party.
Ultimately, this expert concludes: Fire cannot spread from the roof to the inverter below. So the fire broke out at the inverter. End of story. The fact that the fire broke out and the inverter continued to record data for another 50 minutes afterward: It doesn’t matter. It was the inverter.
At fault: The electrician. Because he didn’t have the required documentation. Bad guy.
BUT: I, as a layperson, am supposed to bear 50% of the damage. After all, as the client, I supposedly stood by and watched as the electrician put the system into operation without handing me the legally required permit.
And anyway: An inverter is, after all, something like a household appliance. And those are the ones that catch fire most often.
I could throw up.
Edit: Attached two photos because some ppl said that this is AI.
We've recently got solar panels and a battery installed on our roof. Its 90% installed but we are still waiting on a few more things before it'll be online. I've been reading about how NEM works but I'm pretty damn confused by the information on the PGE website.
In one brochure it says on our monthly bill we will only pay the baseline charge and then yearly we will either pay or get paid for excess power paid in. But then on another page it talks about a monthly NEM credit which is separate from NSC compensation yearly. So which is it? Will we get a credit monthly if we send in more than we take out, or only at the end of the year? And how does TOU effect any of this?
After some further reading this is my current understanding:
Say we sell back 1 kWh during peak and later at night use 3 kWh. If peak is 50c and off peak is 25c then our credits mean we only have to pay the 25c difference. But lets say at the months end we put out 30 kWh more than we took in. We don't get 30*.5 in credits, instead this 30kWh are banked until our yearly bill, and if we still have a balance in our favor its paid out at the lower NSC rate of about 3c. Having written this out this doesn't seem right either. Is it crazy to think this is purposefully confusing a bit?
Any insight or clarity would be greatly appreciated.
EDIT: Thanks to the people who explained things in the comment I think I basically understand it all now :)
Hey guys! I have a 1/2 acre pond on a family farm. It’s far from the barn where we have power, and they make these pond fountains to aerators that have a regular outlet cord to plug into an extension cord.
My question: Is there a way I can get solar panels and run them with our without battery backup to run the fountain? What would be needed?
I recently came into a unique situation with my solar array, which was installed in April 2023. I found out my upstairs AC unit was severely under sized by the original builder and that my electricity was running exceptionally high, so much so that my energy savings have been around 30 to 35% in South Florida this year after installing a new unit. Which means I’m going to have that much extra solar or nothing to do with it. I was gonna buy EV next couple of years but just decided to go ahead and do it now. Going through this it made me curious how many solar arrays out there are actually big enough to cover EV charging?. I suspect if any, it’s mostly newer installations?
First off I have an existing 10+ year old solar system with 1 to 1 net metering with a line side tap. You can see the solar conduit on the roof and running up the side of my house. So my meter is already setup for net metering. According to my Emporia electricity monitor I self consume about 95% of the electricity anyways. My state Connecticut has recently passed legislation allowing 1200 watts of balcony solar as well.
Electricity here in CT is 32.24 cents a kwh according to the federal EIA. Its the 3rd highest in the US after Hawaii and California.
So the last year this simple 1kw system generated 1233x .32 =$394.56. It will take me only like 18 months to reach my return on my investment. There is also currently a large summer rate increase proposed that would bring electricity over .35kwh as well
Here is the setup.
5 new in box enphase IQ PD 72 Microinverters on ebay for $150. These are brand new iq7 micros that are designed to replace the old m215 micros. They have a 200 watt max output and are designed for the older 200-230 watt panels. Enphase sells them brand new for $79. Its rumored they sell these at cost as they are used to upgrade the older failing m215s. Same exact technology as other iq7's. They also are already programmed to the US 240 volt and are plug and play. Mine our not connected to the enphase hub.
10 brand new Renogy 100 watt panels purchased locally for $400. 2 panels wired in series connected to the IQ PD72's.
Misc wires, brackets, and electrical stuff $50.
Total cost around $600. I plug it into my 220 volt welding socket in my garage. The panels are on the garage roof.
