Permit in Hand!
The permit was issued today. I went in person to pick it up myself, and have it in my hot little hands.
Unfortunately, the electrician that we’ll be using is going on a 2 week vacation starting Monday.
So, here’s the schedule:
May 3 – May 6 or 7 – the physical installation will be done. It’s gonna take more than 3 days because of the steep roof and the need to put in steppers to work. I’ll be on-site the first day and the last day of this process taking pictures, and I think my wife is going to stop by at lunchtime the other days. This will happen rain or shine on the first day as they can spend the time moving the equipment to my location.
Week of May 17 – One day will be used for the electrical work. We’ll be firing up the system in test mode for a few minutes, but we can’t turn it on yet.
3 to 4 business days after electrical – Township inspection. They require about 72 hours or so to schedule an inspection. Once it’s inspected, we will have completed the township portion of the process.
After that, we have to apply to PSE&G for the interconnection agreement. That application requires the inspection report from the township. Once approved, PSE&G will install a phone line and modem in the meter box and replace the meter. They will be downloading our reading and other statistics via the modem. Luckily, the telephone network interface is about 2 feet below the meter box and we have a spare pair of wires run from the street already, so it should be quick. At this point, we can turn the system on.
After that, the state may choose to inspect before approving the rebate.
We’re probably a month to 2 months from going live!
Pictures will begin appearing here Monday.
I’m not the only one
It looks like I’m not alone in having trouble with the township in getting approval for solar panels.
In this article from the Today’s Sunbeam local paper in South Jersey, a man is having more or less the same problems that the first Hamilton person with residential solar had.
While you wait …
A note to new readers …..
We’re hopefully in the end of a waiting period for building permits. The equipment is all in the hands of my installer, and we can start the installation as soon as we have the building permits and I have a window of availability (to be home to let people inside and keep an eye on things).
If you’re looking for more basic info on why we’re installing solar panels you should take a look at the January 2004 archives (to the left). For “before” pictures, take a look at the February 2004 archives.
Yet Another Update
I spoke to my installer again today.
He’s been to the township and spoken to everybody.
Electrical – apparently, we were missing a few switches on the diagram, and the price of the permit is set per component. That is fixed, though it will probably cost me more. He also dropped off specs for the inverter showing the GFI components and explaining the PV system’s lack of need for a transfer switch. He thinks that will satisfy them.
Building – As it turns out, my installer was involved with a case 2 years ago that sparked (pun not intended) a change in the process for solar energy installations.
Prior to April, 2002, people applying for solar installations were told that they had to get a zoning variance because there was no provision in the zoning regulations for solar panels, and they were therefore illegal. My installer’s previous customer had to pay something like $1000 to file for a variance, publish in the legal notices in the newspaper and send certified mailings to her neighbors – losing seven months in the process. She went before the zoning board, and they praised her for being the first in Hamilton to install solar panels, and questioned why she had to appear in the first place.
As a result, Mayor Glen Gilmore issued an executive order on April 15, 2002. The order said in part:
“Whenever an application for solar panels or other scientifically recognized, environmentally friendly reusable source of energy are received by the … township, every reasonable effort shall be made to complete the necessary municipal application by administrative review, without the necessity of requiring a formal zoning board appearance.” (Quoted from a Trenton Times article of 4/23/2002)
My installer spoke with the mayor’s office, all of the zoning officials and the legal department. They all remembered the executive order, but were having trouble finding it. Today, they found it, and Paul Adezio (who my installer reports is a really nice guy – he’s the Municipal Attorney) walked it over to the Planning department today. He’s also FAXing a copy to my installer, who will give me a copy later.
So hopefully, we are back on track with the application. The new wild-guess target date is sometime the week of May 3, assuming that the permits are issued next week sometime.
Permit Woes
It just gets worse.
I received a letter from the township in yesterday’s mail. Our permits are on hold for the following problems:
Building
“You must obtain a prior approval from the Planning Department for the solar panels on the roof.”
This is a screw-up by my installer. I told him back in January that our township was very tough on everything, and I’m 90% sure that I suggested to him that he call them to find out whether or not there are local requirements. He didn’t, assuming that the process would be like other local municipalities. His ego (“I do all of the time – I know what needs to be done.”) is gonna cost us more time.
Electrical
“Fill out Electrical Permit completely.”
OK, minor problem – must have missed a box.
“No transfer switch shown on drawing.”
This is the electrical official’s inexperience with PV solar systems. There is NO transfer switch – the whole point of being grid-connected is that both systems interoperate. My installer is clearly going to have to teach this official about solar. I’m the third system in town (that I know of – the first having been installed by my installer) and I think I may be the first that is completely grid-connected with no batteries involved.
“GFI protection not shown.”
OK, no biggie here either. The inverters have GFI protection built in, so my installer will just have to show/copy the inverter specs.
Overall, I still think that this shows poor planning by my installer. Rather than make one phone call or even a visit to the township inspections department asking what he needed to do, he went forward assuming that jobs are just like the township that he lives in. This is costing us time and therefore money in savings on our bill. It’s fundamentals of project management – “make the plan, check the plan, check it again, do the plan”.
Scheduling woes
My installer called the township today, and got a testy response from the person who answered: “We’ll call you when the permit is ready.” My installer suggests that we not bother them again, or risk our application being placed on the bottom of the pile.
This creates a bit of a scheduling mess for me. I have 4 vacation days to take by 4/30, or I lose them. I can’t really be out of the office the week of 4/26 – it’s month-end and fiscal year-end. I have a training class May 10-14.
So, we’re down to:
Week of 4/19 (next week)
Week of 5/3
Any week after 5/17
Also, I have to be careful not to schedule too much vacation time right next to the training week.
It looks like I’ll have to take next week off regardless (to use the days), and hope that the permit is ready. If it isn’t, the installation will have to be on one of the other weeks, and we might have to wait 2 weeks to start if the timing is wrong.
Thanks for your patience. This site will get interesting as soon as the installation starts – I PROMISE!
Delays Redux
I heard from my installer this morning.
The reason that I hadn’t heard anything from him is that he left my file at home when he went on his Florida vacation. He didn’t have my block and lot number, and felt that he wouldn’t be able to check on the permit, so he didn’t call the township. (I don’t think my wife had those numbers either when she called.)
He says that at this point we have to just wait. He’s found with Hamilton Township, NJ that if you push them for information or even ask too often, they put your application on the bottom of the pile.
So, I have to rearrange vacation at work for some unspecified future date. *sigh*
More Delays
My installer, who is off vacationing in Florida this week, was supposed to call the township Building and Inspections department to check on the status of our permit yesterday. He was supposed to contact us to update us on the status, so that we could adjust vacation plans accordingly.
He didn’t. We called the township today, and we were told that the permit was filed on March 17th, and that it had to be approved by the Building and Electrical departments. They stated that it wasn’t ready now, probably won’t be ready by the end of the day, and they are closed tomorrow for Good Friday.
If you remember, on March 5th I was told that my installer would be filing for the permits “this week”. I interpreted that to mean the week of March 12. Apparently, he had to delay until March 17 because his township contractor’s license had expired. Now, he plans an installation for next week, isn’t even HERE to check on it, fails to check on it as promised from vacation, and the permit is late.
Now my wife and I will both have to rearrange the vacation that we scheduled at work.
Am I overreacting, or do I have reason to be a little cranky? Let me know in Comments.
About a week to go
We’ve got about a week to go.
My installer should be calling the township building department tomorrow to find out of the permit is ready. My wife may have to go pick it up (she works about 3 blocks away) by Thursday afternoon, so that we can start on Monday morning.
They’re predicting a chance of rain on Monday, but my installer told me that if that happens we’ll do the inside work first.
I’ll be taking the week off, so I should be posting pictures and news as things happen!
Web Stuff
