Popular state incentives and the decreasing cost of solar energy in the US has led to a sharp rise in the number of businesses and households choosing to ‘go solar’ to save energy and money. This is a boon for consumers and the industry, with competitive prices and healthy technological innovation – particularly in the US.

But professional consultants and installers are concerned that the rise in installations is encouraging contractors without specialist knowledge to advertise their services. Experts trained in the dangers of residential and commercial solar installations fear that stricter regulations may only come in after improper installations cause serious problems.

DIY Solar Systems

In addition to the 30% federal rebate program, nearly all states have incentives in place to encourage people to install solar systems. However, the only standardized safety code that is uniform across the US is the NEC (National Electrical Code). Since no state or federal incentives can be claimed unless a master electrician signs off on an installation, many believe that this is a sufficiently failsafe system.

But with home improvement stores making solar systems readily available to consumers, the question of how installations are carried out has become increasingly pertinent. Solar energy systems generate a lot of DC power and therefore need to be installed carefully.

While the price of solar has come down greatly in the past year, it is still not the cheapest option. People wanting to save on the installation costs go with the lowest bid – or choose to do it themselves – which leads, at best, to an installation that generates power inefficiently or, at worst, is dangerous.

Expertise Cannot be Replaced

Professional solar installers bring years of training and experience to their work and know how to provide an optimized and safe installation. Many have the added benefit of experience applying for and receiving every incentive and rebate possible in a given state. Some go even further and offer their own incentives to help provide affordable installations such as buying back power, offering leases and pro-rated payment systems.

Astrum Solar from Maryland is a design and installation company that covers the Mid-Atlantic region. It is also an SREC (solar renewable energy credits) aggregator. Michelle Waldgeir, Vice-President of Marketing, says that all the states the company works in require solar installations to be undertaken under the supervision of a master electrician.

“Other than that, I haven’t run across any standard certification across the US with the exception of the basic NEC. A contractor needs a license and an electrician needs a license – what does a solar installer need? Just because you are a general contractor, or even an electrician, that does not mean you are automatically experienced in solar installation.

“We use only NABCEP (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners) certified installers who have passed a rigorous examination. While this is not a legal requirement like a contractors’ license, it adds a level of assurance to the buyer. I would highly recommend that anyone hiring an installer in any state make sure that they are NABCEP-certified,” she adds.

In addition, says Waldgeir, Astrum provides unique warranties to its clients: “If the homeowner wants to put a new roof on 10 years down the road, we will remove, store and then remount their solar panels; it’s part of the contract. Also, if they move and want to take the solar installation to their new residence we will remove and reinstall it if the address is in our area. If they do not want to take it and the new owner doesn’t want it, we will buy it back.”

A New Jersey Solar Trio

Geoscape Solar also offers an innovative solar leasing option to its customers in New Jersey.

“We not only do leasing, we do both residential and commercial solar installation sales,” says Michael Boches, CEO and Co-Founder. “We have arranged standard financing for commercial customers and other types of creative financing for customers who both buy and lease.

“Solar renewable energy certificates (or SREC) are one of the mechanisms that New Jersey has employed to promote solar. On top of the federal 30% incentive and REIP rebates, when you produce solar electricity in New Jersey, you are issued these certificates. Because the state has mandated that a certain percentage of electricity has to come from solar, there is a forced marketplace to buy these certificates.

“There are very few regulations and there is no specific licensing requirement across the US for solar installers. In our area all the basic building codes are pretty strict, but when talking about solar it comes down to the town-by-town level; some are very strict, some are very lenient. We just did an installation where they were very quick to approve our permits – they came out quickly to do a cursory inspection and approval and the electrical inspector came and took a closer look at the wiring. But in another town they checked every single detail of the project, stage-by-stage, and it took months longer to get the project done. That’s how different the regulations are,” says Boches.

Andy Fioramonti, CTO of New Jersey-based Harvest Power says he wants everyone to go solar but in the right way.

“You wouldn’t think of rewiring your whole house by yourself with a handbook on a weekend. Just structurally, on a typical residence you are putting 100 penetrations in the roof and the racking system should be certified by a professional engineer to be sure that it will withstand wind speeds,” he says.

“You have disciplines which are structural and mechanical as part of the equation. Then, once that is done, you have the wiring. We often run with DC voltages in excess of 400-500V and we can design the system to go to 600V, which is extremely hazardous. Unless you are installing the panels at night, all panels are live while you are installing them. As you connect panel to panel in a series, you are building voltage. Once they are connected, you have to bring that to the inverter where suddenly you are wiring them into 400 or 500V DC,” says Fioramonti.

“Any homeowner who thinks he can do that easily better have his life insurance paid. This should only be left to a licensed professional installer or licensed electrician.”

Fioramonti agrees that regulations vary widely, from towns with permit processes that are as simple as writing a letter with structural information to towns with very strict rules.

“There is one large town that completely eliminated the need to pull permits for single and dual family residences for solar installations,” he says. “That is great for us as professional installers, but scary at the same time because it opens the door for home handymen to do it without restrictions. Also, some municipalities will not pay for their rebate power programs if the installation is not inspected and certified to their regulations first.”

Pro-Tech Energy Solutions, also based in New Jersey, handles both large and small installations as well as completing the necessary regulations, permits and incentive paperwork for its customers.

According to John Drexinger, COO, and Administrator Gary Chernowetz, states have inspection requirements in place regardless of who the installation is done by. The only exception is for people living in an area ‘off the grid’ and installing a battery-backed-up solar system.

“There are no laws governing how you do that. You have to take the associated risks,” says Drexinger.

But he does admit that while there are specific codes, permits and regulations that apply to any installation, these vary from state to state.

“That doesn’t mean that there aren’t people out there who are installing their own systems and not getting them inspected or pulling permits. That is very dangerous and I wouldn’t advise it. Plus, they can’t connect to the grid or reap any incentive benefits without an inspection in most states,” he adds.

“There are plenty of small LLC-type companies selling solar on the web, so self installations aren’t just the venue of the ‘big box’ stores,” says Chernowetz. “If someone wants to try it themselves, they can find a way. But I’m an expert installer and I would not want to do it myself.”

SunWize Solar has been in the downstream end of the solar business since 1993.

“We are one of the largest wholesale distributors of solar electric equipment and we also do residential and business installation,” says President David Kaltsas. “Our residential group is in Oregon and California. Our business installation is nationwide and our corporate headquarters is in New York.

“Part of the rebate process in California is to have an interconnect agreement with the utility and the way to get the agreement is to have somebody who is certified with the proper license as the entity who is hooking your system up to the grid.”

But, according to Kaltsas, even though the inspection of the interconnect between the inverter and the utility meter protects that end of an installation, it does not take into consideration whether the right type of panels were installed, whether they were installed in the correct place or even if the roof might leak.

“If you don’t get the optimum installation, you don’t get the maximum return on investment. We do a lot of things along the way to make sure the system will work, it will last and the homeowner will have a good experience,” he says.

Peter Lowenthal is Group Director of Renewable Energy, Clean Tech and Sustainable Practice 360jmg, a Washington-based company that helps renewable energy businesses market themselves. He is also the executive director of MDV-SEIA, an information and advocacy organization for the solar industry.

“To get incentives all states require that you prove your system installation has been inspected by a licensed electrical inspector, which requires a certain level of professionalism. You cannot really work on electrical systems without being a master electrician. There are some solar licenses for people in California which allow them to be in the industry as well, but there certainly is a need for trained and qualified technicians.

“Solar roofing products are always an attractive industry. On that front the industry has gone to a fair amount of effort to develop NABCEP. That board establishes what contractors and electricians need to know to install solar. It offers an exam and tests people’s knowledge. NABCEP certification is one of the premiere things you can have in the industry for installers – however, it is not a requirement.”

The Long Road to Change

The solar industry is concerned about DIY installations, noting that these may potentially affect the industry in a negative way. In particular, there is a worry about a backlash to professionals if homeowners make serious mistakes. This could cause a delay in the overall acceptance and development of renewable energy in the long term.

Ultimately, the issue of regulations and certification appears to be a catch-22 situation. While many professional installers trust in basic incentive programs to force proper installation inspections, others worry that with solar panel manufacturers selling out of big box stores, the market will become simply another field of consumer electronics. The wide variation of permits and inspections between cities and states is a serious problem, but only time will tell if it can change.

About the author:

Based in California, Joyce Laird has been writing for a wide range of industrial magazines for over a decade. Her extensive background in the semiconductor industry created a perfect transition to covering developments in photovoltaics.