Finding electrician in Northern Virginia / DC area

[lunchbox9168]

Hi folks, looking to get some advice on how to convince electricians to help wire a hybrid inverter (ex. EG4 18kpv system) to the grid, work with the county for permit & inspection, and Dominion Energy for Permission-to-Operate.

The easiest answer here is of course - money, but even then, I've spoken to the owners of 3 certified electricians in the area, they've all refused due to lack of familiarity with the system and the risks associated with it. They don't want to be held responsible, even though I've let them know I won't expect any warranty of service here. I've laid it out very simple for them: currently the meter feeds my panel, I need the meter to go to the inverter first, then connect the Load side back to the panel. In my opinion, this is a fairly simple ask. I'm almost willing to DIY it but I'm not comfortable working with high voltages.

I've contacted solar installers in the area as well, none of them want to touch any DIY system either.

Any other suggestions on how to approach this?

 

[aragonx]

Hi,

I totally feel your pain. I'm in western Maryland and have the same issue. I can't even find anyone that wants to do the solar panel installation.

I have seen some advertisements on facebook marketplace for some electricians that are willing to work on solar. I haven't tried any of them yet though. So I don't know if they are legit. Maybe try Craig's List? I have never had much luck on there but you might have an easier time.

Please keep us updated if you find someone. I would be very interested in finding an electrician too.

 

[jimsloy]

Did you find anyone? I know it's almost a year later, but I am in the same boat.

Need an electrician for a solar 'consult' for an hour or two. Somewhere within 50 miles of the Wash DC area....

Anyone have any good leads?

 

[aragonx]

Did you find anyone? I know it's almost a year later, but I am in the same boat.

Need an electrician for a solar 'consult' for an hour or two. Somewhere within 50 miles of the Wash DC area....

Anyone have any good leads?

No. I never found anyone. I contacted a few of the local solar companies directly. That was not worth the time. They were only interested in selling a complete systems to uneducated consumers.

But to be honest, I didn't try that hard. I'll be looking again soon though so I will keep you posted.

 

[lunchbox9168]

I found a company based out of Virginia Beach called iLoveMySolar.com that does installs & permitting in northern Virginia, but they weren't familiar with the Gridboss nor the Flexboss and were only installing 18kpvs at the time. Things may have changed now.

 

[45North]

Makes business sense. They take the low-hanging fruit and leave the liability and risk for someone else.