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Solar installation
Oct. 8th, 2011 12:43 pmSunBug Solar installed my panels this week, and it was good. They started bright and early (7:30 AM!) on Wednesday, and worked for three days.
Brian, the electrician, arrived first. I showed him my electric panel, and he pointed out that (a) there was no room to add any new breakers, and (b) the wires inside were a mess. I have 100A service, and he suggested I consider upgrading to 200A service, since I'm considering an electric car some day soon. So I decided to go for it. This made his job considerably bigger than had been planned, but he set to work.
The installation crew arrived shortly thereafter and started unloading ladders and gear. I walked around the house with Carter, the foreman, and then I pedalled off to work. When I got home, there were rails installed on the upper part of the roof to hold the panels, and markings on the roof over the porch. Over the next two days, they installed the rails and the panels, while Brian worked feverishly to get the electrical work done.
By Friday evening, the panels were all in place but Brian was still finishing up. He got the power back on about 6, and finished at 7. Frankin and I offered him a beer, and we talked for a bit before he headed home. He still needs to come back on Monday, and National Grid needs to send someone out with a new (reversible!) meter before I can start generating electricity, but it's looking good. Brian told me about when he installed solar panels on his home. He was so excited that he didn't wait for the reversible meter, he just started generating. But it turns out the that the standard meter turns the same direction regardless which way the current is flowing. So not only did he give the power company two days' worth of electricity, they actually charged him for it. He's not making that mistake again.
I was going to post a bunch of pictures, but it was a lot easier to let Apple take care of it. If you're interested, you can check out my photo site.
Brian, the electrician, arrived first. I showed him my electric panel, and he pointed out that (a) there was no room to add any new breakers, and (b) the wires inside were a mess. I have 100A service, and he suggested I consider upgrading to 200A service, since I'm considering an electric car some day soon. So I decided to go for it. This made his job considerably bigger than had been planned, but he set to work.
The installation crew arrived shortly thereafter and started unloading ladders and gear. I walked around the house with Carter, the foreman, and then I pedalled off to work. When I got home, there were rails installed on the upper part of the roof to hold the panels, and markings on the roof over the porch. Over the next two days, they installed the rails and the panels, while Brian worked feverishly to get the electrical work done.
By Friday evening, the panels were all in place but Brian was still finishing up. He got the power back on about 6, and finished at 7. Frankin and I offered him a beer, and we talked for a bit before he headed home. He still needs to come back on Monday, and National Grid needs to send someone out with a new (reversible!) meter before I can start generating electricity, but it's looking good. Brian told me about when he installed solar panels on his home. He was so excited that he didn't wait for the reversible meter, he just started generating. But it turns out the that the standard meter turns the same direction regardless which way the current is flowing. So not only did he give the power company two days' worth of electricity, they actually charged him for it. He's not making that mistake again.
I was going to post a bunch of pictures, but it was a lot easier to let Apple take care of it. If you're interested, you can check out my photo site.
