Frank.B.Smith
Member
- Location
- Glen Burnie, MD.
Greetings,
I currently have Solar panels, with Enphase microinverters, on my house and want to add some more to a detached garage. The house and garage are connected by 4 inch electrical PVC pipe that has two AC circuits in it for lighting and receptacles in the garage. I want to add a 50 AMP sub panel in the garage dedicated to the solar that will be installed on that roof.
The inspector is attempting to use Article 690.4 of the 2011 code that says "Identification and Grouping. PV source circuits and PV output circuits shall not be contained in the same raceway, cable tray, cable, outlet box, junction box, or similar fitting as conductors, feeders, branch circuits of other non-PV systems or inverter output circuits unless the conductors of the different systems are separated be a partition." to deny me from installing solar on my garage. I have countered that the 50 AMP AC circuit is neither a "PV Source Circuit" or a "PV Output Circuit", which both carry DC, but he is insisting that this AC wiring is solar related and such cannot be in the same conduit with non solar related AC cables. He is basically interpreting the code as it it were written as ""Identification and Grouping. PV source circuits, PV output AND INVERTER OUTPUT CIRCUITS circuits shall not be contained in the same raceway, cable tray, cable, outlet box, junction box, or similar fitting as conductors, feeders, branch circuits of other non-PV systems or inverter output circuits unless the conductors of the different systems are separated be a partition."
IMO the 50 AMP cable from the house to the garage is another "FEEDER" cable that just so happens to have a load center panel that contains inverter output circuits. If instead of solar this 50 AMP panel had a welder receptacle off of it that would be perfectly fine.
As an alternate option I suggested that I would pull the existing 15 and 20 AMP AC wiring from the conduit and use the single 50 AMP wire to also provide electrical service to the lights and receptacles in the garage as well as solar. This was unacceptable to this inspector as well. But he would not clarify why.
I am having trouble seeing why it is OK for the AC wires, that run to the solar panels installed on my house roof, to run inside my attic alongside other light and receptacle AC wires but the same is not true when they are run underground in a 4 inch PVC conduit. Yes the Solar on my house was approved by the county inspector. Running a separate PVC conduit between the house and garage would require the tear-up of a patio and walkway that were installed over the existing conduit. This is an expense I do not wish to incur.
I am all for safety but I do not see a risk in these three AC circuits sharing a pipe that is buried under the ground. If something unlikely did cause the cables to short together the breakers on either end of the cables would trip.
Expert opinions on this topic appreciated.
Frank
I currently have Solar panels, with Enphase microinverters, on my house and want to add some more to a detached garage. The house and garage are connected by 4 inch electrical PVC pipe that has two AC circuits in it for lighting and receptacles in the garage. I want to add a 50 AMP sub panel in the garage dedicated to the solar that will be installed on that roof.
The inspector is attempting to use Article 690.4 of the 2011 code that says "Identification and Grouping. PV source circuits and PV output circuits shall not be contained in the same raceway, cable tray, cable, outlet box, junction box, or similar fitting as conductors, feeders, branch circuits of other non-PV systems or inverter output circuits unless the conductors of the different systems are separated be a partition." to deny me from installing solar on my garage. I have countered that the 50 AMP AC circuit is neither a "PV Source Circuit" or a "PV Output Circuit", which both carry DC, but he is insisting that this AC wiring is solar related and such cannot be in the same conduit with non solar related AC cables. He is basically interpreting the code as it it were written as ""Identification and Grouping. PV source circuits, PV output AND INVERTER OUTPUT CIRCUITS circuits shall not be contained in the same raceway, cable tray, cable, outlet box, junction box, or similar fitting as conductors, feeders, branch circuits of other non-PV systems or inverter output circuits unless the conductors of the different systems are separated be a partition."
IMO the 50 AMP cable from the house to the garage is another "FEEDER" cable that just so happens to have a load center panel that contains inverter output circuits. If instead of solar this 50 AMP panel had a welder receptacle off of it that would be perfectly fine.
As an alternate option I suggested that I would pull the existing 15 and 20 AMP AC wiring from the conduit and use the single 50 AMP wire to also provide electrical service to the lights and receptacles in the garage as well as solar. This was unacceptable to this inspector as well. But he would not clarify why.
I am having trouble seeing why it is OK for the AC wires, that run to the solar panels installed on my house roof, to run inside my attic alongside other light and receptacle AC wires but the same is not true when they are run underground in a 4 inch PVC conduit. Yes the Solar on my house was approved by the county inspector. Running a separate PVC conduit between the house and garage would require the tear-up of a patio and walkway that were installed over the existing conduit. This is an expense I do not wish to incur.
I am all for safety but I do not see a risk in these three AC circuits sharing a pipe that is buried under the ground. If something unlikely did cause the cables to short together the breakers on either end of the cables would trip.
Expert opinions on this topic appreciated.
Frank