Iboc wrote:
Ok Guys, I checked in on the aluminum wire, I "Should" use a terminal block for the adaptation. Now I have a couple more questions.
1.) Is there anyone in particular that I should contact to come an inspect this system once its installed? We are the only people in our town with PVs or Wind Turbines. The town says we dont need construction permits, they also dont have any permits or wind turbines or solar and no electrical inspectors. Central Maine Power also does not Inspect home pv systems. I was told that for a NetMetering contract, just call them and tell them what kind of invertor so they know if it shuts down automatically when the grid goes out. They said they dont have time to inspect them, they will just take us at our word. So aside from the town and the Utility, is there anyone else that would want to inspect this system?
2.) There is a 70' Retractable Ham Radio antenna right next to the arrays (30ft +or-) made of laticework steel no wider than 1.5". At 30ft, and 1.5" wide. Will the steel affect the summer morning output of the arrays greatly? It's Directly East of the Array Position.
good to find out about the requiremnt of the terminal block for adaptation as i didn't know if it needed it or not and now i know too.
if you are confident that you can do the electrical work you can just follow the nec rules or get an electrician to either do the work for you or have one advise and inspect your work. do note that there would not be anybody to force the nec rules upon you unless required by your home owners insurance and they would most likely force that upon you. if you don't follow the nec guidelines they may say you made it unsafe by not following the nec and they may refuse to pay for any damages with an out for them like that. insurance companies can be royal pains in the *ss and will look for any excuse to not pay for the protection you are paying them for and do know the nec is sometimes hard to interpret.
as to xantrex being new, they are not new and i believe the company is older than outback, sg correct me if i'm wrong. now, i understand what you meant though with particular products being new to the market as newer items tend to need bugs worked out of them in the beginning.
as to the shade, yes, you will have a slight degradation between the beginning of spring and the end of summer for less than an hour of morning sun, but it won't amount to much lost power imho.