Where was I......Oh yeah, I was at the beach while Hurricane Earl clipped by. No internet, no need. When we got home, it took 4 or 5 days to become officially caught up with unfinished business. Now for the rest of the story.
We left our heroes in the blazing sun assembling the PV modules. Our progress was pretty smooth until around noontime. By then it was 90 and humid. Plenty of water was dispensed with retreats to the shade trees. Originally, I decided upon two morning stints to get this part done. We were finished with 3 out of 4 arrays and the boys wanted to push on. I reluctantly agreed.
It wasn't long before I heard fasteners and tools begin to tumble off the roof. I knew the heat was bearing on the roof guys. I had to demand they take a break with only two more modules to go. Once refreshed, we pushed the last bit of energy to complete all 20 modules. Joe had to stay up to make final connections at the roof junction box. It seemed like an eternity but he was quite the athlete pushing through. When all were on the ground we all felt pretty good about today's accomplishments. Time to gather the tools.
I walked back into the yard to get a wide view of the installation. One of the owners asked me why the last column of modules looked askew. I looked from different angles and by golly, they were off by under an inch. I sort of groaned to my self knowing we might have to realign that day in the heat. So we tried offsetting modules to close the gap. It was soon apparent 4 of 5 must be removed and the starting module aligned correctly. I told the customer that I need to think about it a bit. We had gained nothing by pushing through the last column in the heat. Fatigue dulled our eyes and brains. We'll have to come back anyway. Lesson learned.
But hey, we could give the system a test! We started the Envoy (array interface) and the microinverters. I takes time at first while the microinverters report to the Envoy and it starts logging in the units. We waited a half hour but only came up with 10 units. Something wrong. We checked the branch box and reset the breakers. Nothing. Then I asked Joe to put a meter on the output side of the breakers. One of the two was dead. Joe and I have never bought a new breaker and have it bad, but there it was. Joe offered to run to town for a replacement. He was back in no time and installed the new breaker. We flipped them on and and went back to the Envoy. In a few minutes we had 15 or so and a few minutes more, all 20! Great, we were pumping nearly 2800 watts, everyone felt happy and relieved. So we shut the system down and told Glenn its in the power company's court and that we would return in a few days to align the modules. Meanwhile, I contacted the electrical inspector Ray Still of Alderson, WV. He contacted Glenn, made arrangements, and he was on site that evening. What good service. The system passed all codes and requirements.
Early the next week, we all showed up to tweak the modules. After an hour or so, we had them true and we were done with the job. Glenn and I discussed the power company's inaction and promised I would call all my contacts to find out the status. I found out that we have a work order number, but no $30 application payment or inspection report. I knew both items were taken care of but they didn't know it. Glenn was starting to get a bit annoyed at the power company. He would say;"I have these panels on the roof and all this sunshine is going to waste!" I assured him that the sun has been burning for 6 billion years and we have quite a few billion to go. I know his feelings exactly. It happened to me when I was waiting for our system to go online.
Glenn and I finally figured out we were getting the runaround. With both of us calling and emailing everyone finally someone from the local office showed up to check the meter base. All I could do is assure Glenn it will all happen, eventually.
And eventually it did, while I was at the beach. Glenn now turned compulsive, reading the Envoy and checking the new bidirectional meter readings. Once again, I've been there. It is one of the most rewarding experiences of having a PV system. It feels all warm and fuzzy.
I hope that as PV systems are installed in the region, the power company will be more friendly, accepting, and knowledgeable about this upcoming change in the way they have been running the grid.
I am happy, Glenn and Susan are happy, and anyone else involved with this new wave of independent power. A better word may be distributed power as opposed to centralized. Power to the people!
