All the panels are up, we’re connected to the grid, and we are live!
Here’s the panel layout. I went with the maximum panel density that our roof would support, given local building codes. (Some localities, Seattle included, regulate the maximum roof percentage that may be covered by solar panels, minimum roof edge clearances, etc.)
(Ignore the “A” and “B” notations. This is from a change order that altered the panel counts and orientations at “A” and “B”.)
The “N” is due north. The front door is located at the midpoint of the outline’s bottom edge; it’s directly above the word “view” in the caption. The small structure with three panels on the left is the attached garage.
The front of the house, facing the street:
We knew the panels would be very visible from the street. We’re OK with that. The house looks like a one-story structure from the street, although it’s really two stories. This roof is less steep than many. It doesn’t have dormers but it does have a goofball section where the house and garage roofs meet. Some roofs aren’t visible from the street…ours is not one of those roofs.
The north and south panels, and the east panels facing the backyard, are less visible.
I took the distant backyard photo from the backyard’s farthest point, at the fence line. The closer-in one is from the second-floor deck’s far corner.
The electronics and electrical installation was professional and clean. Conduits are supported and runs are labeled. The SolarEdge inverter is in our utility closet where it’ll always be shaded. (It’s a under deck…Nice and cool all year round.) It passed the city inspection without a change.
Here are the inverter and local power meter, which measures the panel farm’s kWh as a verification of what SolarEdge reports.
The master disconnect switch (it’s in series with the circuit breaker inside the service panel; so it’s identical to “throwing the breaker” but can be done much faster) and connections to the service panel.
We’ll get our SolarEdge account in a couple of days. I’m looking forward to monitoring our production.
Seek Nuance 