PV disconnect
- Thread starter Danielt
- Start date
ggunn
PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
- Location
- Austin, TX, USA
- Occupation
- Consulting Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
By code, probably, but by most utilities' requirements, no. Nearly all (maybe all) require a separate disconnect in addition to a backfed breaker.
jaggedben
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern California
- Occupation
- Solar and Energy Storage Installer
Definitely not all in all situations.
jaggedben
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern California
- Occupation
- Solar and Energy Storage Installer
Per the NEC, yes.
ggunn
PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
- Location
- Austin, TX, USA
- Occupation
- Consulting Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
All the AHJs I deal with do, but I'll allow it.
jaggedben
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern California
- Occupation
- Solar and Energy Storage Installer
And the main utility I deal with, which has the most customers in the country, doesn't. That is, not for single phase and a plugin meter at 320A or less.All the AHJs I deal with do, but I'll allow it.
Some utilities will use the meter as the visible blade disconnect. If you have a feed-through meter and that typically limits it to single phase less than 400A. One of the few nice things utilities have done for the PV industry. They realized after a while that no one will go around and lock out dozens of PV disconnects on a distribution segment before working on it and the real reason for the locking disconnect was to isolate naughty customers. They can do that by bagging the meter and tossing it in the truck.
jaggedben
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern California
- Occupation
- Solar and Energy Storage Installer
Typically they would just send a message to the disconnect inside the smart meter.
I had not heard of that. So there is a fully rated contactor in the smart meter? Must be pretty small.
- Location
- Illinois
- Occupation
- retired electrician
One of the utilities in our area will do that when fire dispatch calls and requests the utility to respond to a fire. Of course, that only works with self contained meters.
jaggedben
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern California
- Occupation
- Solar and Energy Storage Installer
The 200A ones Tesla and Enphase use in their resi MIDs are only 3-4" in the longest dimension, they would fit. Not sure about 320A meters.
Aside from what I read online, a few years ago I had a friend whose power was shut off because his partner stopped paying the bill. Nobody had come out, and it happened at a random time irrc. Once he sent them a payment it came back on pretty quickly.