Permitting just ground mount construction?

[Dagoth Ur Does Solar]

I have been leaning more and more towards DIY'ing a larger 48V system. The biggest stopper for me has always been permitting. My AHJ at a minimum is going to require a building permit to build a ground mount array (or to put panels on a roof).

I don't intend to do any grid connection here, and the system would be housed in my existing shed on the property.

My thought, really, is to just go the route of getting a permit and building a ground mount array, and having the system be off-grid which as best I can tell doesn't require permitting.

Just curious if anyone has gone this route? I am always curious about the people on this forum that are constantly throwing up more and more panels all the time. Makes me wonder if my AHJ is going to say "we see this building permit for a solar ground mount, but what about the rest of the system?"

Really, as best I can tell, they mostly care about wind/snow loads and the structure being a danger.

Any thoughts? Permitting is a pain in the ass. I wish I personally knew any solar installers in the area to give me the scoop on some of this. Frankly, my county is utterly worthless at giving any information to an average joe, or even being able to answer questions.

 

[sumpower]

Most building/permit departments will walk you through the process when you go file for the permit. If you don't understand something about the process, just ask them what it is you don't understand. I have always found permitting departments helpful for the most part.

 

[Dagoth Ur Does Solar]

Most building/permit departments will walk you through the process when you go file for the permit. If you don't understand something about the process, just ask them what it is you don't understand. I have always found permitting departments helpful for the most part.

I'm guessing I'm just not getting to the right people.

Then again, where I live, even going to the county to do something like file a homestead exemption is an ordeal.

I guess I am spoiled by so much of the world being online now and county governments lagging behind.

 

[Fisherguy66]

I'm in Canada but I guess there's rules here too lol. My yard is fenced, cannot see it from front or back. I get along extremely well with my neighbours on both sides and neither had a problem with me putting up some panels as long as it looked neat. I went off grid with a eg4-6000xp and single powerwall battery to have backup and shave power off peak and mid peak rates from 7am-7pm. So far its been working great.
Only thing I did was tie into main panel and feed the 6000xp with grid power to charge batts off peak after a cloudy day or two.

I never even thought of permits. I was comfortable doing it all myself and it turned out exactly as I planned. Could I get in trouble, maybe but I doubt it as no one can see it. I'm a risk taker in general.

At my camp property I built a really tiny 1.2kW system as a first experiment with solar and it worked out there too. I'm 1km from any nearest person there so I tend to do what I want there. In a year or so I might just get the new Dodge Ramcharger and if I do I will be seriously upgrading the camp system to charge while I'm there since there is no grid.

 

[Hungfish]

@ Dagoth Ur Does Solar
i just went thru the process. i am in Central valley, CA and the process involved PoCo, city building department and fire department. if you are in CA, send me a DM and I can help with what i can.

 

[going_commando]

I have been leaning more and more towards DIY'ing a larger 48V system. The biggest stopper for me has always been permitting. My AHJ at a minimum is going to require a building permit to build a ground mount array (or to put panels on a roof).

I don't intend to do any grid connection here, and the system would be housed in my existing shed on the property.

My thought, really, is to just go the route of getting a permit and building a ground mount array, and having the system be off-grid which as best I can tell doesn't require permitting.

Just curious if anyone has gone this route? I am always curious about the people on this forum that are constantly throwing up more and more panels all the time. Makes me wonder if my AHJ is going to say "we see this building permit for a solar ground mount, but what about the rest of the system?"

Really, as best I can tell, they mostly care about wind/snow loads and the structure being a danger.

Any thoughts? Permitting is a pain in the ass. I wish I personally knew any solar installers in the area to give me the scoop on some of this. Frankly, my county is utterly worthless at giving any information to an average joe, or even being able to answer questions.

I think saying "off-grid systems don't need a permit" is a misunderstanding. First, it depends on where you are and if there is required electrical permitting. Second, it depends on your risk tolerance. If you have to get a permit to install a solar array, then more than likely the inspector is going to want a permit for the electrical. The NEC does regulate PV installations that don't feed into the grid, so if there is permitting involved, then you are going to need to do it to code. The code cycle your state/local jurisdiction is on will also matter, as the code changes every 3 years and they have been changing rules and adding stuff to the solar, battery, and microgrid space in general in the past couple code cycles.

Do I pull permits for everything that I do that supposedly requires one? No. Am I going to permit something to install solar equipment and then not pull a permit to install the solar? Highly unlikely, as its easy enough to find out if solar equipment has been installed and wired.

 

[Dagoth Ur Does Solar]

Do I pull permits for everything that I do that supposedly requires one? No. Am I going to permit something to install solar equipment and then not pull a permit to install the solar? Highly unlikely, as its easy enough to find out if solar equipment has been installed and wired.

I guess that's mostly what I'm curious about. So many people here are constantly adding new panels, new DIY batteries, etc.

Makes me wonder if most people are just doing all of this unpermitted?

I'm still in the really early stages here and weighing my options.

 

[Dagoth Ur Does Solar]

I've been digging more into what work is exempt from any permitting in my area...

I think it's more permissive than I first thought. Accessory structures under a certain sqft are exempt from requiring building permits, and some level of electrical work is exempt, so long as you don't need to pull the meter. And the homeowner can do all this work.

So, depending what the AHJ can tell me, I might be able to get away building a solar shed, or adding panels to an existing shed. I think I will approach it from the perspective of "I want to charge my EcoFlow power station in my shed, so I want to just put some panels on top, do I need a permit for this?"

Hoping since I live in an unincorporated county, that this isn't going to be an issue. That would assuage a lot of the pain points for me.