I've been doing the part-time one-man-band PV installation work for a few years now. The jobs tend to be thorny (at least for this computer nerd) (e.g. installing PV on a wall, installing PV high up on a 12 12 roof, the off-grid Victron + Discover system, dialing in an Outback system that had a fried ESS, adding a BMS to a custom battery bank (work in progress), collaborating with difficult-personality DIYers...). Meanwhile, I've been building out spreadsheets in an attempt to better manage this wide variety of work.
I've so far been failing to make adequate income. I've been lacking the self discipline to let "good enough" be "good enough" (a blessing and a curse I guess). I take way too long to get quotes out. There's probably also some subconscious self sabotage going on here 😑.
I'm getting better over time, but ugh I still suck at managing tools, materials, and installation process. I'm the Magoo that can't find the channel locks I put down 30 seconds ago (oh, they're on the top of the ladder).
Separately, I'm a big fan of flexible-load control. Especially for sites that tend to be occupied during the weekday (e.g. with home-office workers and stay-at-home parents). You've heard this from me before: With spare PV power, dynamically: Pre-heat or pre-cool well-insulated homes in the afternoon (with heat pumps, to the edge of the comfort window). Pre-heat heat-pump water tanks (to the top of the rated window). Charge the EV. Run clothes dishes cleaning machines. Etc. For homes that are mostly empty during the day... there are still flexible-load opportunities thanks to automation.
For a wonderful woman whose PV system is past its 20-year net-metering term: I recently helped expand the PV. Over time, she and her little community plan to move more of their loads into the daytime. She's happy to do this. ...This was promising for me.
Making hay when the sun shines... This can help us have deeper relationship with the natural world and its cycles. Being aware of the sun's position over the day and the year... the shade cast by our trees. Being aware of the best-available weather forecast. And being aware of the power requirements of our disparate electrical loads. I get it that some people don't want to be bothered. But some people are game. By golly, for some people it'd be _fun_. These are people I want to serve. I assume it will get intuitive after a few months of active attention.
Many take it as a given that a system — post net metering — needs to have batteries. And if a system has batteries, then it should work when the grid is down. Better technology and supporting NEC code + UL standards... are making this easier and cheaper (e.g. ConnectDER MSAs). But it's still complicated and expensive. I've gone back to these sites repeatedly to troubleshoot issues (granted, most of these issues were on me).
To paraphrase Barry Cinnamon:
Grid-following PV-only systems... you can set them and forget them. Battery-backup systems... you'll have those customers on speed dial.
PV-only systems that turn off when the grid goes down... very cheap, very simple.
I had a blast at the recent NABCEP CE show. Going into it, I was yearning for a small barebones grid-following inverter. It seems these are rare now, with all the hype around backup-capable inverters. I think I found what I was looking for at the show. ...A four-module microinverter (micro) from Northern Electric Power (NEP). It supports modules up to 600 DC watts. It outputs up to 500 AC watts per module. For grid-exporting systems, NEP's gateway device is optional. ...The NEP micro can be wired directly into an electrical panel (no boxes on the wall).
This means _one_ power-electronics device for the whole PV system. ...That is really cheap. I liked that NEP's Ben Montano straight-up said this is the main advantage with NEP micros. They're also built to last though (here's a fun related video with NEP's CEO). NEP started back in 2009, and their HQ is in Pleasanton, CA.
I thought I had become a "pull DC down from the roof" kind of guy. But this micro got me thinking differently. One benefit with micros: I prefer to run wire thru the attic... it's cheaper and faster to run romex (an AC-only thing). Another benefit is checking the rapid-shutdown box as an afterthought (as much as I want to rock PV Hazard Control Systems).
The In-N-Out reference:
The parent company is Oakstead. It's the S Corp with the general contractor's license. Complicated custom installs will be done thru Oakstead. I now have the `OnGrid` name (for more on this, see here). I like the name. I'm a coder and I use camel case. The name will be `onGrid`.
I'll use the name for a new company that _only_ does four-module (2-2.4kW) grid-dependent PV systems. The arrays must be contiguous rectangles (I can move obstructions if necessary, but this will be rare for these small arrays).
onGrid will probably be agnostic with modules and racking. (Only flashed mounts.) Among the reputable options, go with what's cheapest.
The arrays will be installed in a way that supports easy expansion later. The possibility of going off grid later will be considered in the design (we'll see what the IOUs do with the new fixed charge, etc).
Thru repetition of the same basic install... I'm stoked to get the management of materials and process _tight_.
These systems will be cheap. Like... under-$2-a-watt cheap. For a small system with some flexible load control happening, in PG&E territory (with the most expensive electric rates in the continental U.S.)... this will be a banger $ investment (more on this later).
onGrid will support a clean and simple user experience around monitoring PV power, loads, and utility bills (probably with Shelly monitoring).
I have more to write about this. But now... I need to eat food and then get back into a slate-patio install.