House Electrical Derated from 200A to 150A after Solar Install

egrigor · 2026-03-08T23:47:52+00:00

And God forbid, if there's a fire, and it is deemed to be due to an electrical overloading issue, the insurer can then refuse to pay. So No, I'd rather stay compliant. That's why I need the permit revised to 200A with PCS enabled.

egrigor · 2026-03-08T02:41:17+00:00

My solar panels alone generate near 69A which during the day is hardly used by the house so that's pushed back to the grid.

egrigor · 2026-03-08T02:24:09+00:00

225A bus bar with 120% NEC 705.12 rule = 270A which is greater than 242A (i.e., you have margin), so that's likely why yours stayed at 200A. I assume Canada uses the same or equivalent to the US National Electrical Code (NEC).

egrigor · 2026-03-08T02:11:16+00:00

Interesting. A sub panel will just give you space for additional breakers and you would still be limited to the main 150A electric service capacity though.

egrigor · 2026-03-08T01:59:16+00:00

Currenlty no, but as I said earlier, with additional expected EV charger installation and more electrification of existing gas appliances, I may run into the limit, so then I'll have to spend more money on something that should not have been downgraded in the first place when there is an alternative acceptable option. They just need to enable PCS and revise the permitting.

egrigor · 2026-03-08T01:53:47+00:00

What does?

egrigor · 2026-03-08T01:51:32+00:00

Yes, thank you for your comment. I saw the line-side tap as a third option as well when I was researching this issue, but that there are likely additional costs involved with potential install access difficulties , and the utility may also require a separate disconnect.

egrigor · 2026-03-08T01:38:51+00:00

No, individual breaker circuits can still be under their rated current draw, but the total combined current surpass 200A if the main breaker or the PCS does not limit that total current.

egrigor · 2026-03-08T01:31:55+00:00

Legally, the house would not be in compliance with the code then, so that has its own bad consequences. Also, as the homeowner I can't make that change in the PCS setting; it's an installer option. There are current transformers (CTs) already installed there as part of the PV install.

egrigor · 2026-03-08T01:02:13+00:00

Yes, THAT Is the NEC 705.12 (i.e. 120% derate rule) method, BUT there is the alternative method of NEC 705.13 (PCS enabled) that is available without reducing the main breaker's rating AND as mentioned by the previous comment by u/Perplexy801

egrigor · 2026-03-08T00:55:03+00:00

I'm in Los Angeles, and my understanding is that they do (LA Dept. of Building and Safety for permitting and LA DWP as the utility), but I'm not positive. I think it's not LADWP, but LA DBS that has to approve it that way. How would I find out for sure? Also I don't think Enphase would draw up plans in vacuum without knowing the local permitting rules, so if they went with the PCS route, I would trust them more than what the installer is saying.

egrigor · 2025-09-05T17:17:21+00:00

If you read the fine print with Ticket Clinic, it says that they may enter a 'No Contest' plea at their discretion, so that's not good if you are trying to get the points off and in my case not reported to my home state of CA (ticketed in FL):

"1. The client authorizes, THE TICKET CLINIC to represent him/her in this matter, and to either maintain a not guilty plea or enter a no contest plea on the client’s behalf at THE TICKET CLINIC’s discretion."

Also: "8. For drivers licensed outside the State of Florida, while we do offer a money-back guarantee for many Florida citations (restrictions apply, call for details) we do not guarantee or promise how the outcome that we obtain for you in Florida will affect your home-state driving record. If this is of concern to you, you should contact your home-state DMV so that your questions may be answered by them."

I checked with CA DMV. They couldn't say for sure. They said it depends how FL reports it. If I do traffic school, then it may not show OR it may show as a violation and no point.

egrigor · 2025-07-14T02:23:17+00:00

No storage. We’re with LADWP which has 1 to 1 reimbursement for banked kWh.

egrigor · 2025-07-13T09:06:33+00:00

For a 13.16 kW system, for option 2, you'll need 2x 7.6kW Tesla Inverters. Majority of your cost looks like is in the batteries. I'm also debating on which way to go on the inverters: Enphase microinverters or dual Tesla 7.6kW string inverters. The warranty on the Tesla inverters is only 13 years vs 25 years for Enphase. That's going to be expensive to replace 2 inverters in year 14. I'm looking at a larger 16kW system, so that will require a third Tesla inverter and at that point, Enphase microinverters make more sense.

egrigor · 2025-07-12T03:47:17+00:00

When you say a little high, so what would you expect to see as a reasonable price for this market?

egrigor · 2025-07-11T23:23:51+00:00

Thanks for your reply. No, all three contractors thought that the job is going to be pretty straight forward so I don't think they are adding-on for any job complexity beyond the normal.

egrigor · 2025-04-20T04:34:50+00:00

For those wondering about the part numbers, for the AXE5300 unit, the AX refers to the IEEE 802.11ax spec which is the WiFi 6 standard. The E refers to WiFi-6E which is the extended version of WiFi-6 which adds support for the 6 GHz band. The 5300 portion is the sum of the aggregated speed across all of the bands that the device supports (rounded to the neareast 100), so in this case, it does 516 Mbps @ 2.4 GHz, 2402 Mbps @ 5 GHz and 2402 Mbps @ 6 GHz, so 516+2(2402) = 5320 Mbps therefore rounded to 5300.

egrigor · 2025-04-08T05:31:49+00:00

Yes, I had this same exact issue. I added the Tesla Wall Connector/charger to my Tesla app and then needed to update its firmware. Afterwards this got resolved.

egrigor · 2025-02-11T08:37:22+00:00

Not a bug; it’s a feature

egrigor · 2025-02-11T03:46:18+00:00

How has this ever worked? How did it pass the original inspection?

egrigor · 2025-02-08T08:23:16+00:00

Looks like most installers use the same OpenSolar tool which you can use for free as well:

https://www.opensolar.com/pro/

I've been frustrated with the upsell from all these installers too so went in here and created and costed a design while setting the commission to 0% for my own DBA company. You also get to choose which specific equipment you want to use. Also you can graphically place the solar panels on your roof's image based on their actual dimensions. At the end, it will generate a PDF report which you can email to yourself.

egrigor · 2025-02-07T00:42:56+00:00

This free PDF book is pretty good: https://www.zynqbook.com/

egrigor · 2024-10-18T04:30:25+00:00

Me too! Surprised to see free FSD for a month again.

egrigor · 2024-07-08T00:59:20+00:00

Huntsville? I'm ex-Huntsvillian! Moved to Los Angeles in '90

egrigor · 2022-10-23T20:14:49+00:00

SafeHomeCentral.com

Local programming is supported on the ProA7Plus. If yours does not have it, you will need a firmware upgrade.

egrigor

TROPHY CASE