Is it possible to hire solar company to install solar panel only and I buy my own batteries and connect?

[Armorer266]

I would say listen to the Cali forum members... I would never live in that state for reasons including and outside the topic; what they say is more applicable than where I live, but you do you.
I had my company install a AIO between my meter and new "SUBPANEL". Subpanel is now the entire house. Added batteries when I wanted... no B.S. plus I don't live in a state that cares as long as the it was permitted and with PTO from POCO.

 

[caesarv]

I am going to go to Hell. I installed ground mount solar without permits. I tried to get a permit but it soon became obvious that the City was never going to approve anything unless I hired some large solar company to install everything...and no one wanted to touch anything that I had already bought (18Kpv.) My plan is to live in the house until I die and then it becomes someone else's problem. I just have to hope that the City and PG&E don't find out...although when my electricity usage drops to zero starting in Spring, that may be a clue. Maybe I can feign dementia if I ever need to sell the house. I also do all my own electrical and water heater replacement. My City is only interested in money. I did install my own mini-split and did have that inspected (required for a rebate)...but the city charged me double because they said I installed an A/C AND a furnace! A complete rip off. The inspection took 5 minutes; I passed.

My first house was built by a large company. The day we moved in I found they wired the chassis of the stove to 120v. On my second house, I found all the outlet ground screws had a ground wire loosely wrapped around it, but all of the ground screws were left completely loose. On another house where the electrical was completely re-done, I had multiple shorts due to shoddy work. I trust my own work.

 

[blueforce]

My AHJ requires everything over 24 volts to have a permit filed by a master electrician. On top of that solar panel installations are "construction" so you need a licensed engineer to sign off on those. In contrast the PTO only requires a single line drawing that doesn't need a stamp.

My biggest issue: no one wants to take my money.

I installed in 2024 and I bought my own batteries and inverter from SS and wasn't planning on doing solar at first. Figured I could hire an electrician for permits and doing the connections, no luck there. Changed plans and decided to install a ground mount array. I contacted over 10 different solar installers (independent and big companies) and only got a response from 2. The first one wanted to charge me almost $4/w using cheap panels and when I spoke to the guy on the phone he couldn't understand how anyone who do it cheaper with his "rock bottom" price and ended up taking off a whopping $450 from the total. This was a company with a pretty website and dedicated sales staff (high overhead). The other guy I talked to is also a solar installer but is mostly doing electrical work these days. I got his price down to $2.20/w using bifacial panels and he was familiar with EG4 equipment. He handled all the paperwork, permits, etc. Found out the city requires a 10ft setback from fences (come on) so switched up to installing the panels on my pergola for a final price of $1.70/w. Great thing is he's also handled all of my warranty issues for my inverter even though I bought it myself.

Moral of the story: it's like applying to a job, you're gonna have to contact a ton of people and shop around for the best deal but it can be done.

 

[Madcodger]

Given that a person can hire an inspector to check out a house before it is purchased, I don't understand government being so entrenched in the home oversight business. It's a waste of time and resources that attempts to justify (and fund) yet another government function that's just focused on trying to protect me from me, and on justifying its own existence. Every three years, we get a boatload of new regulations about how to build a house, that amazingly makes necessary the new products created by the manufacturers who often have representatives on the boards that think up the rules. How did THAT become a good idea?

Sure, I've heard the argument that it saves on resources such as fire departments, but that's bogus. Most fires I helped fight were a result of neglected maintenance (you need to clean that chimney periodically, buddy) or stupidity (storing that stack of newspapers right beside the wood stove may not have been the best idea, Ma'am). It was actually rare for us to come across something that had been done improperly to the point it was the cause of a fire, or even a major contributor, and this in an area with very few building codes.

The older I get, the more I see this ever-growing stack of rules and regulations as nothing more than a way for government to exert needless control over its citizens and manufacturers to pump up their share prices and management bonuses. Bogus.

 

[R1200GS]

Or install the minimum necessary and expand later.

I'm asking them to use 4 strings connected in parallel to the large FlexBoss MPTTs leaving the small one available should I need to expand.