Connecting to the Grid
When it is time to connect to the grid, you better be prepared.
Interconnection-Getting on the Grid
For most homeowners, the interconnection process can be either very easy, or a major pain in the butt. Once you have a PV system installed on your home, you are very close to being complete with the project, but you need to be connected to the grid first.
The true reality is that, the interconnection of your system should be looked into well before it comes time to do so. The reason is simple, the electric company’s treat their network (the grid) like it is their favorite child. We really should not blame them for this. If the grid failed for any reason, it could mean life or death to people, or at least it could mean children being left in the dark…
So, in order to ease the process of connecting to the electricity grid, make sure to figure out everything that you will need to do to properly connect to the grid, or the service panel where you plan to plug in your system.
Every solar installer should be very familiar with how to connect a pv system to the electric panel, but due to the fact that there are so many different electric companies/coops/and city run utilities in the country, this sometimes is not the case. Do your homework, call the elctric company that you pay each month, and find out who the person is who makes decisions on the following:
-customers who want to use a “Grid Tied PV System to co-generate electric power”
-who decides the rules on the actual connection process
-what fees if any are involved
-does someone need to review the equipment that is allowed to connect to a service panel
-are there restrictions in anyway as to what equipment can/can’t be used
-is there a new type of meter that the homeowner will need to install
-anything else that is of interest to a homeowner should be investigated
***Best thing you could do would be to ask the elctric company if there is another homeowner who has installed a PV system, and if you could contact them. That way, this person can tell you first hand how the interconnection process went. If you see a neighbor with a system on their roof in your area, pull over and ring their doorbell and ask how the process went as well. That is the best thing you could be doing before buying a solar system.