[RE-wrenches] Inspectors on ladders and roofs

[Keith Cronin]

Its good to hear of interest in other locales to participate more rigorously in 
the inspection process.

I'm thinking with the recent stories shared here on the list, that if more of 
this was done, there might be less challenges like systems not operating at 
their
full potential for years of service life to the fires we have heard about.

Building power plants, regardless of their size, should be taken seriously and a 
complete inspection will mitigate the likelihood of degraded system performance 
and hazards.

Matt- you feedback on string monitoring the other day ties into this premise. If 
we had the granular data and as an industry, held ourselves accountable, we 
would have less failures
and all of the other issues related to systems that produce less than desirable 
results.

Reason being- from detailed inspections to expected system performance goals, 
these would be seared in the minds of installers and continuously encourage the 
raising of the bar
in the installation practices, as the installation to inspection authorities 
would have examples of what is a good installation and what needs improvement 
on.

Quality control moving forward is critical to the success of our industry, or we 
will be out there over the next 4-6 years repairing systems, potentially 
unnecessarily. 
Especially true in Q4 of every year, as the mad scramble to install work 
continues to hit the deadline of Dec 31st, even though this year you have some 
flexibility
with the treasury grant of installing 5%. Still doesn't address our ability to 
have someone inspect systems here that has a comprehensive way of identifying
a systems efficacy over time.



________________________________
From: Andrew Truitt <atruitt at gmail.com>
To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
Sent: Mon, November 15, 2010 5:45:56 PM
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Inspectors on ladders and roofs


In many jurisdictions in Maryland the inspectors require photos of the array 
showing grounding, wire management, footings, etc...   Like Mr. Nelson, my 
experience in the Bay Area (back in '04-'05) was that the installer was 
responsible for supplying an OSHA compliant means to access the roof for the 
inspector.  Not exactly sure why the difference, but I think it has to do with 
the fact that MD inspectors aren't as familiar with the technology / equipment.  
Clearly photos are not equivalent to getting on the roof - I've examined systems 
that passed these type of "inspections" with loose ground lugs, poor wire 
management, and leaky footings.


For a brighter energy future,

Andrew Truitt
NABCEP Certified PV Installer™ (ID# 032407-66)
TruittRenewableEnergyConsulting
(202) 486-7507
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/andrew-truitt/8/622/713



"Don't get me wrong: I love nuclear energy! It's just that I prefer fusion to 
fission. And it just so happens that there's an enormous fusion reactor safely 
banked a few million miles from us. It delivers more than we could ever use in 
just about 8 minutes. And it's wireless!"

~William McDonough






On Mon, Nov 15, 2010 at 7:53 PM, Mike Nelson <mdelectricsolar at gmail.com> wrote:

Keith,
>Here in rural Mendocino & Sonoma county, our inspectors love to climb on the 
>roof, and look at everything. I've opened combiner boxes, explained WEEBS, 
>talked about sub-structure in the roof, etc. I always get to the job early on 
>inspection day, and set up a ladder in an easy to climb location. I welcome the 
>opportunity to interface with the inspectors, and hear their side, which usually 
>includes alot of questions, and some interesting stories.
>Michael D. Nelson
>MD Electric & Solar
>Gualala Ca.
>
>
>On Mon, Nov 15, 2010 at 6:37 PM, Keith Cronin <electrichi01 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>Wrenches....
>>
>>
>>Today, when I ran into one of our electrical inspectors, we had a discussion 
>>about having the ability to have thorough inspections for solar.
>>In our jurisdictional, they are not allowed/required to go on to the roof.
>>
>>
>>So, how do they ever get to see all of the grounding and mounting methods used 
>>on a roof and verify whether or not they are adequate?
>>
>>
>>Sure, they ask to open the electrical infrastructure on the ground, but what 
>>about the stuff on top? Combiner box check? 
>>
>>
>>Wiring routed in a way that meets the standard?
>>
>>
>>What's it like by you?
>>
>>
>>Thanks
>>
>>Keith
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