Rooftop wiring [RE-wrenches]

Matt Lafferty pvpro at attbi.com
Fri Apr 12 06:39:15 PDT 2002


All:

I strongly (this would be a good place to allow formatted text, Michael.....
;-) second Bill's comments.  I, too, have seen the items he mentioned.  Bad
showing!

Bill, myself and a number of others, some on this list, work very hard on
the behalf of the Industry to educate Building Agencies, Inspectors, etc.
We deal with numerous agencies and listen to their comments, fears,
paranoia, and ignorance (not intended to be a bad word, just a lack of
understanding).  Our overall objective is to help in "paving the way" so the
rest of the Industry can achieve their respective goals.

One of (Oh how I wish it was only one....) the obstacles we face in doing
this is the "broad brush" with which all PV ends up getting painted with.
One "Awwww  *&##@!" takes away 10 "Attaboys"!  (Can I get an "Amen" from
those of you who relate?)  As with all Industries, there will always be
those who do their work at a higher standard and those who don't.

Another significant challenge is that the Industry hasn't yet matured to a
point where the Module
Manufacturers, Balance of System Manufacturers, Code Writers, Building
Officials, Listing Agencies (like UL) and Inverter Manufacturers have
developed a consensus "standard".  This ends up leaving the Installer to
combine all the components and assemble them in a manner that satisfies all
the parties that "Can't Get No Satisfaction".

I congratulate, appreciate and applaud William Miller, Matthew Nelson, and
others like them, that adhere to a high standard of integrity. (Disclaimer
1: I've never checked out William's work...I'm taking his comment at face
value.  No offense intended William...)

Please, Please, PLEASE design & install in a responsible & workmanlike
mannner!  Installing conductors without protection from physical damage is
not workmanlike, responsible or Code Compliant!

Regarding Tray Cable....Our use of TC is just kicking in.  What a great way
to go!  Tough to strip the jacket repeatedly without nicking the conductor
insulation....Take your time.  Our panelization approach and installation is
the most efficient I've seen to date.

I have some pics....Will send them to you off list if you let me know you
wnat them.

Pray for Sun!

-Matt Lafferty
pvpro at attbi.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Brooks" <billbrooks7 at earthlink.net>
To: <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2002 12:19 PM
Subject: RE: Rooftop wiring [RE-wrenches]


> Brad,
>
> If this story is true, then we are going to have a very tough time getting
> inspectors to accept the use of TC. Type TC must be supported properly, as
> does any cable that is outside of conduit.
>
> I routinely see the USE-2 cable that comes with these plug-in modules
laying
> on the roof in the wiring from module to module. This concerns me greatly
> because their are few things more abrasive than asphalt shingle roofs. I
> have not seen it laying all over the roof on the home runs, but I'm sure
it
> happens. I have seen flexible conduit laying all over the roof which is
> equally bad and aweful looking.
>
> Bill.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Brad Bassett [mailto:bsbassett at earthlink.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 9:25 PM
> To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
> Subject: Rooftop wiring [RE-wrenches]
>
>
> In talking to a well respected solar installer the other day, I learned
> that they considered it OK to run Tray Cable or USE exposed across and
> on the roof of a house from the array, over the eave, and around and
> under and into conduit, without any j-boxes or protection for the wire.
> My question is how prevalent this practice is with solar installers
> around the country. I can't imagine any inspector in Washington state
> would pass such an installation, and am shocked that systems like this
> apparently pass regularly in at least one area of California.
>
> Another question I have is how often do other installers use a ground
> wire to every module, or a star washer on each module and ground the
> rack? What's common practice for grounding arrays?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Brad Bassett

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