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Some solar installers are running into electrical interference. At issue is whether the skills, qualifications and certifications required to install a roof- or ground-mount photovoltaic system safely include those possessed by electrical contractors.

Generally a solar power systems contractor installs the solar panels and subcontracts the electrical work to an electrical contractor to handle grounding the array framework and connecting the PV system to the electrical system. Some states are considering eliminating the category of solar power systems installer and mandating that all solar installations - including panels - be performed by a certified electrician. In Hawaii, for example, the state contractors licensing board is considering such a measure.

In Massachusetts, a court has interpreted a requirement that PV installers must subcontract with licensed electricians to mean that frames, racks, rails and modules must be assembled and installed by a licensed electrician. Solar installers counter that the current process as practiced is perfectly safe, and moreover, electricians do not possess the mechanical installation skill set to effectively handle racking, mounting and panel installation.

 

Safety at issue

“The move to replace solar installers with certified electricians is bureaucratically motivated,” says Roger Anderson, owner of New Jersey-based solar energy developer ARC Design & Consulting LLC. “You don’t see other countries doing this.”
In Anderson’s view, manufacturers of racking and mounting systems for the PV industry have gone to great lengths to incorporate safety into their designs. Anderson also works as an engineer for GameChange Racking, a New York-based manufacturer of roof, ballasted and post ground-mounting systems. For example, GameChange has developed its Gator grounding strip, a snap-in component that enables 250 panels to be grounded on a single grounding lug.

In their profession, solar installers are uniquely qualified to handle the technical and physical job of planning and assembling a PV array, Anderson says.

“Solar installers are more like carpenters,” he says. “They are craftsmen and work with precise alignments and meticulous assembly. The solar installer is dealing with an unpowered system until the handoff to the electrician. The electrician’s job is to connect the strings. Electricians are not trained for assembly.”

Zach Ward, vice president and general manager of ground-mount business at PanelClaw, a Massachusetts-based maker of ground- and roof-mount PV racking systems, agrees that solar installers are perfectly able to do the job but that manufacturers have a responsibility to incorporate safety into their designs and to make sure installers are properly trained. Some of this training should properly extend to an appreciation of electrical systems - though it does not necessarily have to include an electrical licensing requirement.

“I strongly believe that the industry must look out for installers that cut corners, leading to unsafe installations,” Ward says. “PV installers, whoever they are, must understand an array’s mechanical properties, electrical properties and how it will interact with the surface upon which it is being installed.”

From a product standpoint, Ward says PanelClaw’s Sun Bear ground-mount product includes wire management conduit clips specifically designed so that a qualified installer can prepare a rack for grounding safely until the time comes for the electrician to take over. He says the system supports wire bundles and conduits of various sizes that can be installed in an open position and closed later when the time comes to power up.

 

Growing resistance

Paul Benvie, vice president of engineering at Florida-based ground-mount manufacturer TerraSmart, says the question of whether solar power installers should be electricians is difficult because of the underlying political and social aspects that go beyond the quality and safety of the installation. These extend to issues such as organized labor, prevailing wages, private contractors and labor employment agencies.

“In my opinion, the installation of the wiring, including module stringing, should be performed by licensed electricians,” Benvie says. “The erection of the structural members could be performed by either licensed contractors or licensed electricians - at the discretion of the general contractor. The gray area is twofold. Should a non-certified installer be handling and mounting an electricity-producing module? Should a non-certified installer be making grounding connections?”

From an electrical safety standpoint, Benvie stresses that the wiring needs to be inaccessible. With the wiring on the roof, it is essentially inaccessible by definition. But on the ground, it must be protected by screening or fencing around the site to make it inaccessible. Structurally speaking, Benvie considers the roof to be more challenging than ground-mounted solar installations because of the additional loads and the roof membrane that must be evaluated for its age and condition. Conduit routings must be designed for aesthetics and fire ratings and routed around existing mechanical equipment, and this can prove to be challenging for designers and installers.

“The locations of the electrical disconnects are typically governed by the authority having jurisdiction,” Benvie says. “The locations of the interconnect - on the load side at the breaker and the line side between the existing utility meter and main service disconnect - also must be considered on a building. Essentially, all of these concerns are mitigated when ground mounts are used, as there are fewer surprises.”

TerraSmart’s TerraFarm is UL2703-classified and includes integrated grounding as each member is installed, including the PV module, without any special grounding devices, such as grounding lugs. As a result, Benvie says installers who follow the installation manual mitigate the risk of shock or fire.

“The installation of the TerraFarm, including the mechanical connection of the PV module to the rack, does not need to be performed by a certified electrician,” he says. “Further, any non-UL2703 racking could also be installed by non-certified electricians, but the bonding of each member that is likely to become energized should be performed by a certified electrician, especially when special grounding devices are required.”

 

Knowledge is power

PanelClaw’s Ward says manufacturers have the responsibility to make sure installers understand the installation procedure of their systems. “The order of operations, torque values, quality control strategy - these are what we need to communicate to the installer,” he says. “We have to make sure the installer knows what the correct tools are to complete the installation.”

A more radical alternative, proposed by Germany-based Dow Corning, a maker of industrial adhesives, is to eliminate the frames of PV modules altogether in favor of bonding frameless glass layers to the mount with a new generation of adhesives the company is developing.

“In the U.S. and some other regions, the metal frames can come into contact with the flow of electricity,” says Joy Govitz, global strategic marketing leader at Dow Corning. “These charged frames can shock people if they come into contact with them. For safety reasons, a grounding pin or something similar is attached to the module to move this unwanted current to a safe place, such as the ground. With rail bonding, there is an insulating barrier created by the silicone sealant between the active module and the racking system. The silicone adhesive will not conduct any stray current, and the rail cannot be charged or electrified. Therefore, grounding is not required.”

As the solar sector waits for a possible technical solution to the grounding issue, ARC Design’s Anderson says the immediate threat is from organized efforts to replace qualified solar installers with electricians. In a sputtering economy, he points out, the growing PV installation business is looking mighty tempting, and electrical safety makes a politically plausible entrée for more organized trades.

“We have no unified trade association,” Anderson says of solar installers. “If we did, we’d push back.” S