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The Roof: |
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Our roof faces approximately 145degrees from due North. For solar, south facing roofs are best, so we're not too bad in this regard. Our panels will be mounted on asphalt shingles, with approx. 3-4 inches of venting underneath. The roof has many skylights, vents, and other blockages, so the panels will be mounted in two seperate blocks. One block will consist of 3 rows 6 panels, the other block will 2 rows of 6 panels. Here are some pics and descriptions: |
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These are the racks for the solar panels that on the garage roof. There will be 2 rows of 6 panels. |
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Here are the racks for the panels over the master bedroom. There will be 3 rows of 6. |
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This is one of the 'feet' for the rail mounting system. You're actually looking at it upside-down (the top of the picture is the downward side of the slope). There is only one lag bolt that penetrates the roof. The base plate mounts to that bolt, and then the flashing goes over everthing. The installer guarantees a leakproof installation. :) |
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Up close shot of the base-plate and flashing. Notice all the sealant oozing out...they seal the penetrating bolt REAL well! |
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Workers installing the conduit for the connecting-wiring from the array of panels over the garage. I could have had them install the conduit in the attic and out of sight, but it would have cost a bit more and I didn't want an inspector poking around in my attic. (!) You can't see the conduit from the street-side of the house, so I really don't care. |
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This is the conduit from the garage array that connects to the main array. |
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Here is the main conduit running to the garage array. |
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Here are the wire spools ready to go. There are 3 white wires, 3 black wires, and a green ground (?) that run from the inverter (not yet installed) to the roof. |
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The wire guy running the wires up the conduit and to the roof racks. |
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The wire guy on the roof pulling the wires to the junction box. |
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Wires run, electrical service upgrade complete. Ready for the inverter, monitoring system, and panels!! |
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More wiring being run on the roof. |
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Once the panels are connected to each other, EVERY connector is wrapped with electrical tape to secure the connection. |
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Every solar panel has a grounding lug. Every panel is grounded to each other, and the same grounding wire grounds all the mounting rails together. |
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Here's one of the lugs that the grounding wire attaches to on the ounting rails. One long copper wire grounds EVERYTHING to EVERYTHING. |
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Almost all the panels are up! |
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Almost all the panels are up! |
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Talk about a CLEAN install! Looking up under the solar panels reveals ZERO hanging wires. Everything is neatly tucked away and secured. |
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In case you were wondering, here's what a panel looks like on the back. |
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