New Mexico, Santa Fe

[iampob]

Hi,

Trying to find if any permits are required to do a DIY grid tied flat roof install in Santa Fe, NM.
When googling I've come a cross a couple of PDFs from the city, but not really sure if they're relevant to what we want to achieve,
I can go down the route of trying to phone and get the info, though based on previous experiences I'm imagining it won't be simple to get the info needed.

Has anyone in New Mexico, or even better Santa Fe gone through a DIY install and have any guidance on how to find out exactly what is required?
I won't be DIY'ing the Grid hook up, will need to find an electrician for that, this is more for ballast mounting the panels on our TPO flat roof, the Unirac RM10 is looking like the best option so far.

Not sure if these are relevant or not

https://www.rld.nm.gov/uploads/files/Solar%20Array%20Plan%20Review_Rev%206_4_2020_docx.pdf

https://santafenm.gov/document_center/document/9553

Apologies if this is very day for most people on here, forms are really not a strength of mine!
thanks

 

[iampob]

Good news (I think) is we're in Santa Fe County so not governed by city requirements, one of which seemed to be install had to be a certified NM builder.

Hopefully the county requirements are simpler, will dig into this and see

https://www.santafecountynm.gov/media/files/Growth%20Management/LandUse/PV%20Solar.pdf

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Hello!
Santa Fe County can be a challenge. Suggest you make contact with an electrician who is willing to do as you hope. They should have perspective what is needed. Contact your electricity provider.

 

[iampob]

Hi, thank you!

spoke to PNM and they advised the same,
- it needs to be a licensed electrician contractor that submits the plan and application to PNM, if approved the fee gets paid by to PNM by them.
- the electrician contractor then reaches out to the county to request an inspection,
- if the county says it's ok the electrician uploads the approval to PNM
- PNM set up the account
- Can then get everything installed/connected, though guessing most of it could be installed once both approvals have happened, and then the connection can happen after PNM sets up the account.

Going to speak to the County next to see what kind of requirements they have
and try to find a reliable and not extortionate Santa Fe electrician, slight concern that the second I mention solar the rates will rocket up, hope not!

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Hey good luck.

 

[robbob2112]

I researched it when we were going to move there. They wanted the plans stamped by an engineer. They wanted a diagram of the system and locations for the RSD highlighted to be posted at the property entrance.



I had intended to have the electrician install a main cutoff outside the house and feed through panel before a 200amp main. This was a new construction build so I figured it wouldn't be a problem finding o e because it was a whole house.

 

[iampob]

Thanks for the info,
do you remember if the location came under the city or the county?

 

[robbob2112]

Thanks for the info,
do you remember if the location came under the city or the county?

It was in the Eldorado Sante Fe subdivision a bit south of Sante Fe. So not in city limits.

 

[iampob]

Cheers, that's where we are.

I think I need to first find out what the fire dept set back rule is, then
- draw up the panel layout
- find a professional engineer
-find a licensed electrician contractor
find some money to pay them...

submit requests to the County, PNM and our HOA.

Wondering what the chances are of finding someone that knows all the steps/requirements that could be hired as for a consultant fee,
I guess solar install companies wouldn't want to get involved at this level, as there's no profit from the parts and instal labor?

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Positive Energy Solar has been around a long time. Of course not cheap and not sure how busy they are right now. It is ok for you to schedule a free quote. You could ask about different levels of solar generation. One of their Albuquerque employees has a son that goes to school where I work (same age as my son). Even with that connection and having previously purchased from a former solar business that 2 of the principal leaders used to own (they fabricated solar mounts and sold to a bigger company) they would not sell single solar panels to me.

You might consider having an electrician install a sub panel for critical loads and connect that to an emergency generator connection. Then you can craft Solar to that without spending a whole lot of money to have someone else do it, being mindful of courtesy to the neighbors and all who can see your solar doings. Since we are not sure how much money you are willing to spend, I mention this.

Thankfully Eldorado typically does not have houses jammed up next to each other. Curious to learn how their homeowners association treats solar.

I have spoken with UNIRAC in Albuquerque. They will not sell to end users but if you are polite, they can answer reasonable questions. They even helped me with difficult to acquire panel clamps. Those RM10 roof ballast mounts look nice.

 

[dspeed]

You also need to look at the PNM maps as some neighborhoods appear to have restrictions from the utility. I suspect it is on the grid capacity.

 

[robbob2112]

Positive Energy Solar has been around a long time. Of course not cheap and not sure how busy they are right now. It is ok for you to schedule a free quote. You could ask about different levels of solar generation. One of their Albuquerque employees has a son that goes to school where I work (same age as my son). Even with that connection and having previously purchased from a former solar business that 2 of the principal leaders used to own (they fabricated solar mounts and sold to a bigger company) they would not sell single solar panels to me.

You might consider having an electrician install a sub panel for critical loads and connect that to an emergency generator connection. Then you can craft Solar to that without spending a whole lot of money to have someone else do it, being mindful of courtesy to the neighbors and all who can see your solar doings. Since we are not sure how much money you are willing to spend, I mention this.

Thankfully Eldorado typically does not have houses jammed up next to each other. Curious to learn how their homeowners association treats solar.

I have spoken with UNIRAC in Albuquerque. They will not sell to end users but if you are polite, they can answer reasonable questions. They even helped me with difficult to acquire panel clamps. Those RM10 roof ballast mounts look nice.

The ballasted mounts are a great thing, but for putting it on the roof of your dwelling you will need a stamp from an architect or structural engineer to OK the placement and weight distribution. Even regular rack mounts will require the same for roof mounts.

We has intended to either ground mount or have a car port and put the panels up on top of that. That means less issue with the structure. And from what I read of the HOA rules for Eldorado Sante Fe the solar panel mount had to be submitted for approval but on 3.5 acres of land it wasn't an issue. You can look on google earth and see what others are doing there, we saw both roof and ground mount setups.

 

[iampob]

Thanks all!

We initially got a quote from Positive Energy and they were about $20k for a 4.050kW system,

depending on what we find out about the fire set back rule, we should be able to fit 11 or 12 370w panels on the roof, with Unirac RM10 (which I think I can get) and IQ8 microinverters, we're looking about $6k and I already have the NEC panels. Plus we'd need to get combiner box, disconnect, and other stuff I'm probably not aware of yet!

Eldorado HOA rules don't seem too harsh, there's definitely some existing set ups here that are way more prominent than I think ours would be.

For the structural engineer stuff I saw some other threads here mention Green Lancer, will see if they're a viable option. https://www.greenlancer.com/solar-permit-design or maybe see where we could to in ground mounted, would definitely make life simpler on th paperwork front, I think, the HOA just needs some kind of existing foliage or fencing around it.

This is the stuff from the HOA

https://eldoradosf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ECIA-Solar-Plan-Application-Procedures-2017.pdf

And checked on PNMs map and it shows that they have capacity

 

[robbob2112]

Thanks all!

We initially got a quote from Positive Energy and they were about $20k for a 4.050kW system,

depending on what we find out about the fire set back rule, we should be able to fit 11 or 12 370w panels on the roof, with Unirac RM10 (which I think I can get) and IQ8 microinverters, we're looking about $6k and I already have the NEC panels. Plus we'd need to get combiner box, disconnect, and other stuff I'm probably not aware of yet!

Eldorado HOA rules don't seem too harsh, there's definitely some existing set ups here that are way more prominent than I think ours would be.

For the structural engineer stuff I saw some other threads here mention Green Lancer, will see if they're a viable option. https://www.greenlancer.com/solar-permit-design or maybe see where we could to in ground mounted, would definitely make life simpler on th paperwork front, I think, the HOA just needs some kind of existing foliage or fencing around it.

This is the stuff from the HOA

https://eldoradosf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ECIA-Solar-Plan-Application-Procedures-2017.pdf

And checked on PNMs map and it shows that they have capacity

Microinverters - you might want to rethink those. Unless your panels are in a place to get shade at some point in the day there is no point. And if they will get shade consider the strings and how they are laid out. An extra string or two creativly done to make up for any loss can be a lot cheaper than microinverters.

 

[iampob]

Thanks, I haven't done a tonne of research yet, though one benefit seems to having some redundancy, if a micro inverter fails it's $200 to replace rather than the price of an inverter, and if one of the panels goes out you'd still be getting power from the rest? I may be way off here though as I haven't done much research on the pros and cons of both, appreciate the guidance.

 

[robbob2112]

Do more research, it doesn't take a ton of the $200 inverters before you can buy a full size spare.

With bypass diodes if a panel isn't working because of damage the rest of the string does.

And originally I was all about the Sol-Ark 15k because I misunderstood how much power it produced and I liked the AIO approach. Now that I've done my research I will go with Victron multiplus II 5k models that are UL listed. Probably 4 of them in split phase configuration. And the rest of the components will also be Victron.

The other choices would have been multiple 15k or the EG4 18k or the schneider WX pro, or the midnight solar Rosie -- still researching

The 15k can produce 50amps of AC from the and 16.5 amps from solar. So 66.5 amps total. It does have that 200amp pass-through relay and can do grid assist.


The major problem with the various AIO models that I see is if any component inside it dies the whole box is junk. Some few vendors have spare parts that can be purchased and some have repair depot for a fee.

By going with the Victron where things are spread out the individual components can be replaced and spared.

 

[iampob]

I will do, thanks for the info!

Looks like there are multiple revisions of being UL compliant, this thread has some info around it.

48v Multiplus-II: UL 1741 ?

Different portions of UL1741 apply to certification of inverters that support off-grid and/or grid-tied modes. Victron is only certified for off-grid mode not to be confused with inverters like Enphase or Schneider that support grid-tied modes.

diysolarforum.com

PNM in New Mexico say that all new inverters need to be IEEE 1547-2018 complaint, trying to see if that is something that gets folded into a certain UL revision or not.

 

[robbob2112]

I will do, thanks for the info!

Looks like there are multiple revisions of being UL compliant, this thread has some info around it.

48v Multiplus-II: UL 1741 ?

Different portions of UL1741 apply to certification of inverters that support off-grid and/or grid-tied modes. Victron is only certified for off-grid mode not to be confused with inverters like Enphase or Schneider that support grid-tied modes.

diysolarforum.com

PNM in New Mexico say that all new inverters need to be IEEE 1547-2018 complaint, trying to see if that is something that gets folded into a certain UL revision or not.

One other tidbit - the microinverters all put out AC and you need an inverter/AIO that can accept AC coupled panels. The same is for string inverters.

Look in the EG4 16kpv manual on page 35. That is kinda what I am thinking of as a general design for the equipment layout. But replace the Eg4 with the inverter/assembly of your choice.

 

[robbob2112]

If you haven't already - review the major failures in this section

Up in smoke... learn from my mistake!

Did your experimental battery or home built inverter experience a rapid, unplanned disassembly? Reverse polarity a $3K inverter, and see it go up in smoke? Share it here!

diysolarforum.com

The last few were with DIY battery banks. One that has run for years and inexplicably decided to burn the poor guy's house down at 4am. The other was just a garage fire that only consumed half of his large battery banks.

The lesson here is if you decide to DIY batteries there are MANY gotcha's . With current costs what they are I plan on just using server rack batteries wired in a good configuration and with a fuse on every wire and two fuses or a fuse/breaker on the wires from each battery to the bus bar.

Deep dive fuses and learn all about them if you haven't already. Focus in on class T fuses and/or MRBF if you are going with other than server rack batteries.

 

[iampob]

Thanks, a very great heads up!


we're not planning on a battery at this point, I've made small lithium batteries for skateboards and e-bikes, I'm slowly building an electric motorbike, and pretty sure I'll get someone with a solid track record to build the battery for that, and same if we ever do get a battery for the house. Seeing videos of bike and skateboard fires looks real bad, I can't imagine having 100s or 1000s of cells letting all that energy out, not good!