PV Installation & Quality Assurance Best...
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PV Installation & Quality Assurance Best Practices
Daniel Hytowitz
Field Trainer
January 27, 2017
San Diego, CA
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Overview
• Effective and simple designs are best
• Equipment selection
• Installation work day & efficiency concepts
• Site prep and install processes (ground prep with clips and roof layout marking essentials)
• Install quality as you work and reviewed after (share a SR audit or self assessment detail)
• discussion and misc question time
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Simple & Effective designs = productivity and profit
Goals = increase productivity and profitability
• Less complicated designs result in faster installations
• Typically more reliable performance
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Simple & Effective designs = productivity and profit
How?
• Avoid mini array “islands”
(an array with only one or two modules)
Why?
• Lots of penetrations per module
• Lots of cabling and conduit runs
• More design challenges depending on inverters used
• More complications in predicting system performance
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Simple & Effective designs = productivity and profit
How?
• Avoid overly challenging sites
Why?
• A skipped opportunity is a lot cheaper than a site that costs you money
• Liability on challenging roof types from leaks or damaged materials or excessive engineering and equipment costs
• Time spent to close the sale, design and build this one system could have been used on three other conventional sites. aka “opportunity cost”
• Reduced safety issues and mistakes.
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Equipment Selection
Goals?
• Cost, be sure to include labor with your calcs
• Installation speed / productivity
• Reliability & performance
• Reduced callbacks
• Referrals
• Safety
• Modules
• Inverters
• Racking
• BOS
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Equipment Selection: Modules
Modules
• Reliability
• Warranty
• Price
• Efficiency?
• kWh per KW or per square foot
• Crystalline Silicon poly vs mono / thin film
• Anything else?
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Equipment Selection: Inverters
Inverters
• Reliability
• Warranty
• Price
• Efficiency?
• String / Central inverter vs Micro inverter?
• Hybrid inverter string with optimizers (Solaredge)
• Which is best?
• (per site, tailored clothes shoots vs boots also for your business)
• Anything else?
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Equipment Selection: Racking
Racking
• Reliability
• Warranty
• Price
• Efficiency?
• UL2703 a system approach (not just UL tested parts)
• (per site, tailored clothes shoots vs boots also for your business)
• Anything else?
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Equipment Selection: Racking
Racking continued…
• UL2703 a system approach (not just UL tested parts)
• Briefly it includes
‒ Mechanical
‒ Bonding/Grounding (EGC)
‒ Fire
• What else is important on and around racking?
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Equipment Selection: Racking
Racking continued…
• What else is important on and around racking?
• CABLE MANAGEMENT (& CONDUIT management)
Good racking choices should:
• Be UL2703 listed (mechanical, integrated bonding, fire)
‒ Misc perks no weebs & less copper
• Include cable management and essential accessories
• Install quickly with few tools
- Effective total solution that manages overall costs
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Equipment Selection: Racking
Racking LAB:
• Briefly review several racking types
• Roof attachments and flashing typically used
• Cable management solution?
• pros?
• cons?
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Equipment Selection: BOS
BOS balance of systems (everything else)
• Junction boxes
• Flashings (stay away from rubber boot based)
• ChemLink next gen “pitch pocket” low slope solution
• Wire splices
• Sub panels
• Meter mounts
• Switch gear
• DC disconnects needed? Odd site or PV location?
IMO industrialcontrolsdirect.com
• Conduit supports? Conduit bonding clamp (gec clamp)
• Anything else?
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Installation Work Day: Efficiency
Industry standard, a PV install in one day is typical
How?
• Good design
• Right equipment helps, especially if its mostly pre assembled
• Man hours per kw is still important
eg: nine person crew installing 5kw in one day is likely more expensive than three person crew taking two days…
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Installation Work Day: Plan and Communicate
Planning ahead of time and communicating with homeowner is essential.
• Before work starts communicate a plan with your team.
‒ Even drawing out pv stringing on a scrap can be a timesaver.
• Set clear goals
‒ “By 10 am break all racking footings should be in”
‒ “before lunch all racking should be installed and leveled”
‒ “we should be laying glass after lunch and testing the system by 3pm…”
• Complete as much work as possible at your warehouse or on the ground
‒ module wire management with wire clips
‒ prefabricate sub panels
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Installation Work Day: Plan and Communicate
Misc
• Work like a machine (or an assembly line)
‒ One person drills and applies sealant to holes, another follows with L feet/standoffs and flashings
‒ If there is a bottleneck redirect or rotate to other items then resume assembly line
• Try to stay out of the house (garage) if you can
‒ Gear can usually be installed quicker and more readily serviced
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Installation Quality
Why does quality matter?
• Performance
• Safety
• Liability
• Pride & morale
• Reliability
• Service costs / call backs
• Referrals
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Installation Quality
Check quality while you work and when system is completed…
• It’s best to maintain quality as you work rather than returning to correct something
• If documentation is needed, it may be best to collect while installation is underway
• Sometimes a 2nd opinion can provide a better solution
• It’s best to promote high quality not just pick on mistakes
‒ Friendly competition and positive reinforcement can promote productivity and morale. Take pride in your work.
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Installation Quality
System assessment when complete, the following is from Sunrun installation quality program.
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Installation Quality
System assessment when complete, the following is from Sunrun installation quality program.
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Installation Quality
System assessment when complete, the following is from Sunrun installation quality program.
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PV Installation & Quality Assurance Best Practices
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