[RE-wrenches] Enphase installation details

[Keith Cronin]

William

Some feedback:

1. The DC and AC wiring is generally under the modules and therefore protected.
2. Upon the wiring segueing out from under the modules- AC, you would switch to a JB and conduit. This can also be achieved prior to exiting below the modules.
3. www.schletter-inc.us  and http://www.hellermanntyton.us/markets.aspx?id=1362   have some wire management solutions, as well as AEE with some stainless clips.
4. Yes, we need to evolve as an industry in regards to wire management and mounting, as www.zepsolar.com is addressing in the future.
5. Yes, long term 10 year warranties in CA are the venerable canary in the coal mine scenario. My suggestion to all wrenches- offer O&M as a standard and not as an add on. Develop a long term relationship with your clients and they will surely appreciate the TLC over the years. This should/could mitigate your short lived UV rated tie wrap dilemma.
6. The solar water industry is alive and thriving here and eventually get a resurgence in other jurisdictions around the country...stay tuned- the short answer is- follow the incentives....when they go away, so does the work or the incentive for a William to open up shop, buy equipment and hire people....remember Jimmy Carter @ the White House and in one administration the panels had been removed....and with it the imagination of the industry.......
7. The competitive advantage axiom you suggest- look at it another way. If you lead your area in craftsmanship and have a low O&M cost per client and every integrator learned the way of William, perhaps they would also go to the great lengths to provide the same level of service and in doing so, would cost this into their projects. This, invariably, would become a standard and in doing so, become the only way it gets done. Lead, not follow. If followers don't identify the leaders, then we are destined to have a substandard industry that is self perpetuating and at the rate of growth in our industry we need to ask ourselves what legacy will we decide to leave. I'm not suggesting to give away trade secrets, but I wonder if sharing wire management techniques will better all in our vocation....give it some consideration as there are long term positive consequences.....almost like a solar "syntopicon"- an index to great "solar" ideas...

Aloha~


Keith


________________________________
From: William Miller <william at millersolar.com>
To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
Sent: Thu, November 12, 2009 10:04:26 PM
Subject: [RE-wrenches] Enphase installation details

Colleagues:

We are in the middle of our first Enphase installation.  I have been
working closely with the crew on this project and dedicated extra time
because we knew we needed to develop some new procedures to accommodate
the new technology.

My most surprising realization is that with the Enphase inverters, the
roof-top wiring now has two levels of unprotected wiring, DC and AC.    I have been working on an analogy for the recent
evolution of PV wiring standards and the best I can come up with is that
the new norm is akin to wiring a rooftop air conditioning unit with SO
and USE.  Flexible cords are more suited to portable, consumer
connectable appliances in non-harsh environments.

We wrestled with two issues:  How to secure the AC wiring with a
minimum 10 year longevity -- and how to secure the DC wiring with the
same life expectancy.  In a previous career I worked in the
telecommunications industry.  In a telcom facility we had access to
many layers of wire routing hardware and systems.  The PV industry
has, in my opinion,  largely ignored wire management. 
Ironically, telecom wiring is low voltage in an industrial setting and we
can secure it systematically, whereas PV wiring is high voltage, often in
a residential setting, outdoors, in high temperature and wet conditions
and yet we are relegated to the ubiquitous and fragile cable tie as our
prime methodology.  It is our corporate position that the plastic
cable tie can not be counted on for longer that two years in an under-PV
environment and, since we wire for a minimum 10 year life expectancy, the
plastic cable tie is not suitable.

Over the course of two days we developed robust and efficient techniques
for securing the AC and DC wiring.  I'd love to share our procedures
with this group, but due to extreme competition in our area, I must of
necessity keep any procedures that give us a competitive advantage
confidential.  This is unfortunate as my inclination is to teach,
but it  is a reality in this business climate.

I hope the industry can eventually recognize some of these short
comings.  The solar water industry died an early death because of
economic pressures and shoddy workmanship.  It is possible that the
solar electric industry of today can suffer some of the same if we can't
preform to higher standards.

William Miller



Please note new e-mail address and domain:

William Miller 
Miller Solar
Voice :805-438-5600     Fax:
805-438-4607        
email: william at millersolar.com
http://millersolar.com
License No. C-10-773985
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