AC Disconnect Mounted by Meter Not Required

[SunFish]

I recently spoke to a utility in my area that said that they don't require an external AC disconnect grouped with the meter and they would be fine with us counting our backfed breaker as our solar disconnect since the solar will shut down if they turn off the main service. Is anyone aware of any fire codes/NEC codes that would still mandate having an external solar service disconnect mounted outside by the meter?

 

[jaggedben]

The NEC does not require an external disconnect. I have run into a few places which have local fire codes requiring one.

The NEC also has a couple requirements that might lead to an additional disconnect, albeit not necessarily external.

1) 705.22 requires a lockable (in the open position) disconnect. Your AHJ may dispute whether a circuit breaker is lockable.

2) 690.13 or .14 or .15 (numbering has changed over the different codes) requires disconnects to be 'grouped' with the inverter. So if your inverter is not next to the breaker, generally an additional disconnect is required at the inverter.