Hello from Arizona

[RenewablesRock]

We are all here to learn and teach others. This is a great community.

[J.P.M.]

We are all here to learn and teach others. This is a great community.

I wonder if that's what the OP thinks. He got 3 posts on this thread and then got shoved in the corner. No wonder some think we're a bunch of blowhards. I'm at least as guilty as anyone of thread hijacking.

[BoloMKXXVIII]

Nope. Lived in Georgia and nobody ever came. Also in Hialeah, FL, and nobody ever came. You could pretty much do whatever you want.

I live in South Florida. Specifically in Miami-Dade county where Hialeah is located. I can tell you with absolute certainty that permits/inspections are required by law. It just so happens that most people ignore the law and rarely get caught. You can run into real issues when you go to sell a property and there is a bunch of non-permitted work. It is like a game of hot potato. You never know which owner will get caught having to fix things that others did not do the right way. So much shoddy work is done off the books in Miami-Dade county it can be difficult to find a "clean" older home in some areas.

[J.P.M.]

I live in South Florida. Specifically in Miami-Dade county where Hialeah is located. I can tell you with absolute certainty that permits/inspections are required by law. It just so happens that most people ignore the law and rarely get caught. You can run into real issues when you go to sell a property and there is a bunch of non-permitted work. It is like a game of hot potato. You never know which owner will get caught having to fix things that others did not do the right way. So much shoddy work is done off the books in Miami-Dade county it can be difficult to find a "clean" older home in some areas.

Thank you. That type of situation you're describing seems to match or be more or less pretty common in all the areas I've lived in.

[RenewablesRock]

Yeah, hopefully I won't have to sell this house. But the way it is now, nothing is permanently mounted and I can easily remove everything and put it on a moving truck. Do you need permits to put in ground mounts for the solar panels?

[SunEagle]

Yeah, hopefully I won't have to sell this house. But the way it is now, nothing is permanently mounted and I can easily remove everything and put it on a moving truck. Do you need permits to put in ground mounts for the solar panels?

Depends on the municipality. I would expect anywhere in Florida a structure would need to meet hurricane wind loading which would require a permit of some kind.

I would also think that a ground mount needs a fence around it to keep someone (stupid) playing with the wires and getting hurt. But there is a pretty large ground mount array near me and I can walk right up to it without needing to go through any type of barricade. So I am not sure about what is required in my neck of the woods for a ground mount grid tie system.

[J.P.M.]

Yeah, hopefully I won't have to sell this house. But the way it is now, nothing is permanently mounted and I can easily remove everything and put it on a moving truck. Do you need permits to put in ground mounts for the solar panels?

If the code says you need a permit and other requirements such as a design for wind, it follows that an array or other structure must be permanent affixed. Think about it.

If you need a permit for a roof mount, you'll probably need one for a ground mount.

Look, call the building inspector's office (the AHJ) and get correct answers to all your code questions straight from the horses mouth. Most everyone here is telling you that you'll will probably/likely need a permit which probably means design calcs and a review, and maybe a sign off by a P.E. for part(s) of the design, but probably no one here is in your jurisdiction, and since requirements and rules can vary some, or a lot, by jurisdiction, folks here can't give definitive answers..

Just call and ask. What's the big deal ?

[RenewablesRock]

Just call and ask. What's the big deal ?

Because that has to be done working hours and I don't have privacy at my job. It's a hassle. I wish I could just email somebody there instead.

[J.P.M.]

Because that has to be done working hours and I don't have privacy at my job. It's a hassle. I wish I could just email somebody there instead.

Well, look, you aren't the only person who works and needs to communicate. Where there's a will, there's a way. I'm sure they have other ways to communicate besides phone. E-mail is certainly a possibility. Then, believe it or not, there is always the U.S. Postal service. Maybe they have nite/weekend hours for folks in your situation. Also, and usually, there is a lot of information on line 24/7.

[RenewablesRock]

To be honest, this is going to make it cost prohibitive for what I am trying to do. I will then have to pay a fortune for permits and then thousands for installation. I don't have that kind of money. I am buying stuff little by little each month. I already have 16 solar panels. There has to be a way where I can temporarily put them in the yard to collect power. I am not grid-tying anything or tapping into any of the house's existing electrical system. I am just trying to make a parallel off grid system for 1 or 2 rooms. Not much different than a person running their generator right after a hurrican has knocked out the grid. The only difference is that I am looking to do this a little longer. Right now I have my panels laying on sawhorses. I can always pick them up and put them back in my garage.

https://floridasolardesigngroup.com/are-permits-required-for-solar-panels-in-florida/

^^^ HEADACHE I don't need or can afford right now. That's for the high roller people.

[SunEagle]

To be honest, this is going to make it cost prohibitive for what I am trying to do. I will then have to pay a fortune for permits and then thousands for installation. I don't have that kind of money. I am buying stuff little by little each month. I already have 16 solar panels. There has to be a way where I can temporarily put them in the yard to collect power. I am not grid-tying anything or tapping into any of the house's existing electrical system. I am just trying to make a parallel off grid system for 1 or 2 rooms. Not much different than a person running their generator right after a hurrican has knocked out the grid. The only difference is that I am looking to do this a little longer. Right now I have my panels laying on sawhorses. I can always pick them up and put them back in my garage.

https://floridasolardesigngroup.com/are-permits-required-for-solar-panels-in-florida/

^^^ HEADACHE I don't need or can afford right now. That's for the high roller people.

If you build an off grid system that can feed power to isolated loads you might not have to get any type of permit. Once you bring power into your home not using a temporary extension cord you are then subject to local building and electrical codes. Temporary wiring falls under a different set of rules then permanent wiring.

As far as I know the biggest issue you have to worry about are tripping hazards if you use extension cords fed from a battery/inverter system to portable fans and lights.

[Mike90250]

Another issue is lawn mowing, to keep the grass clear of the panels lower edges. I used some weed block fabric around the bottom edge, held down by bricks.

[J.P.M.]

To be honest, this is going to make it cost prohibitive for what I am trying to do. I will then have to pay a fortune for permits and then thousands for installation. I don't have that kind of money. I am buying stuff little by little each month. I already have 16 solar panels. There has to be a way where I can temporarily put them in the yard to collect power. I am not grid-tying anything or tapping into any of the house's existing electrical system. I am just trying to make a parallel off grid system for 1 or 2 rooms. Not much different than a person running their generator right after a hurrican has knocked out the grid. The only difference is that I am looking to do this a little longer. Right now I have my panels laying on sawhorses. I can always pick them up and put them back in my garage.

https://floridasolardesigngroup.com/are-permits-required-for-solar-panels-in-florida/

^^^ HEADACHE I don't need or can afford right now. That's for the high roller people.

Since, in your own words, you "have never applied for a permit in my entire life", I'm wondering: How do you know what permit costs will be ?

If you're buying the equipment little by little, perhaps you could start saving for the permitting and the cost of any required design changes brought about by the permitting process.

As you state, there may be a way to get a system temporarily operating, but there is no assurance in the least that's a correct statement as you seem to be implying. Wishing does make make it so.

One more time: The answers to your questions or possible solutions to your dilemma, if they exist at all, lie with the AHJ for your area. Contact them. No one here can authoritatively tell you what's going to be acceptable to your AHJ.

[RenewablesRock]

Since, in your own words, you "have never applied for a permit in my entire life", I'm wondering: How do you know what permit costs will be ?

If you're buying the equipment little by little, perhaps you could start saving for the permitting and the cost of any required design changes brought about by the permitting process.

As you state, there may be a way to get a system temporarily operating, but there is no assurance in the least that's a correct statement as you seem to be implying. Wishing does make make it so.

One more time: The answers to your questions or possible solutions to your dilemma, if they exist at all, lie with the AHJ for your area. Contact them. No one here can authoritatively tell you what's going to be acceptable to your AHJ.

Because I've heard from others that it costs hundreds of dollars. Plus the fact that these people will make me use tons of hardware and hire super expensive installers, so that throws out all of the DIY stuff I could ever do to save money. If I want to put 4 solar panels with ground mounts, that's nearly $1200, plus installation and concrete and wiring. This entire thing could EASILY top $2500 for a simple set up by the time you pay for permits and hire professionals. While that may not be a lot of money, it is when you have nearly $8,000 in bills each month. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining. I am just stating the facts. There are literally HUNDREDS of YouTube videos of people building what I am trying to do all with NO permits.

[RenewablesRock]

Another issue is lawn mowing, to keep the grass clear of the panels lower edges. I used some weed block fabric around the bottom edge, held down by bricks.

That's why I have them up on saw horses for now to keep them from being too low. The saw horses are temporary. The panels are completely flat and not aimed at the sun correctly. But they still provide lots of power since they are so huge, plus the fact that I have two of them putting out a max of 620 watts. This looks more like a proof of concept. I guess all of this would be easier if I had a big shed that I could mount the panels on. For what it would cost to buy a buy of ground mounts, I would be much better off buying a nice Tuff Shed from Home Depot. I could use the extra storage anyway since my garage is so full. Problem is, I would need a shed long enough to try to accommodate eight 7x3 (approximately dimensions) panels. I would be much better off with 8, or at least 6. I'll have to get the Tuff Shed guy out here and let him see what I am trying to do.

So do you think I would need permits to mount these on a shed then?