Conduit inside garage and aesthetics

[shet]

I am planning to have the SolarEdge 7600 installed inside the garage rather than on the siding outside (north-west side) to reduce the conduit on the outside. But even inside the garage the conduits look so ugly. Attached is the pic of one recent install. Can these conduits be installed inside the drywall? Is it allowed by NEC code? Of course this will increase the installation cost (to open up the drywall and patch it). I am in northern NJ.

And surprisingly, the pic of a recent install outside on the siding looks much cleaner. Less conduit and everything in a straight line.

[ButchDeal]

there can often be less conduit when the inverter is on the outside and the MSP (breaker panel) is on the inside. The conduit can be placed in the walls but is going to increase the costs considerably.
A lineside tap can often lead to less conduit as well.
and of course conduit can be placed in the attic as well (if there is an attic).

[shet]

there can often be less conduit when the inverter is on the outside and the MSP (breaker panel) is on the inside. The conduit can be placed in the walls but is going to increase the costs considerably.
A lineside tap can often lead to less conduit as well.
and of course conduit can be placed in the attic as well (if there is an attic).

There will be conduit in the attic as well (irrespective of whether the inverter will be inside or outside). And then from the attic the conduit will come out and run along the side of the house (the side where the meter is) and then enter the garage where the breaker panel is. The external conduit along the side of the house would be around 15 to 20 ft vertically.

I am also planning to have an whole house surge protector (Siemens FS100 - flush mounted) as well as interlock kit (Siemens ECSPBK03) and Reliance Power back (THP108) installed at the same time as solar panels.

[ButchDeal]

There will be conduit in the attic as well (irrespective of whether the inverter will be inside or outside). And then from the attic the conduit will come out and run along the side of the house (the side where the meter is) and then enter the garage where the breaker panel is. The external conduit along the side of the house would be around 15 to 20 ft vertically.

I am also planning to have an whole house surge protector (Siemens FS100 - flush mounted) as well as interlock kit (Siemens ECSPBK03) and Reliance Power back (THP108) installed at the same time as solar panels.

in many locations the DC disconnect and AC disconnect need to be within sight of the meter so this might not be possible.
With a whole house interlock the inverter should be on the GRID side of the interlock, so there is no chance for the inverter and generator to interact.

[J.P.M.]

Depending on code requirements, the particulars of the application and the cost of doing something else to hide aesthetically displeasing features like conduit, I'd consider painting visible conduit the same/close color as the nearest or appropriate surface. You'll stop seeing it in short order.

[shet]

With a whole house interlock the inverter should be on the GRID side of the interlock, so there is no chance for the inverter and generator to interact.

Thanks for your inputs. I have attached the proposed line diagram. It does seem to show the inverter AC output going to the grid via line tap.

Edit: added one more picture for meter and other electrical equipment layout (and removed question about two AC ckt bkrs)

[ButchDeal]

Thanks for your inputs. I have attached the proposed line diagram. It does seem to show the inverter AC output going to the grid via line tap.

Edit: added one more picture for meter and other electrical equipment layout (and removed question about two AC ckt bkrs)

of course this would prevent you from upgrading the SolarEdge SE7600 to a StorEdge battery inverter without re-wiring again.

[NYHeel]

I don't mean to be rude, but it's your garage. Who really cares?

I'm also in northern NJ and I ended up putting my inverter in my basement in my laundry room. Most of the conduit is on the ceiling of the basement (the laundry room is finished except the ceiling in that part of the basement). It comes down from the ceiling to the inverter and then runs from the inverter to the SREC meter and AC breaker, both to the left of the inverter. It then goes back out of the house to the outside AC breaker. I also have a side line tap in my electrical panel.

I couldn't put conduit in my attic since the area from one array to the next goes through an area where I have no attic (my master bedroom has a high ceiling). However, I can't see any conduit at all on my roof except right at the edge where it comes down the side of my house. It runs down the side right next to the power line and the conduit is the same color so it really looks fine to me.

[shet]

I don't mean to be rude, but it's your garage. Who really cares?

I'm also in northern NJ and I ended up putting my inverter in my basement in my laundry room. Most of the conduit is on the ceiling of the basement (the laundry room is finished except the ceiling in that part of the basement). It comes down from the ceiling to the inverter and then runs from the inverter to the SREC meter and AC breaker, both to the left of the inverter. It then goes back out of the house to the outside AC breaker. I also have a side line tap in my electrical panel.

I couldn't put conduit in my attic since the area from one array to the next goes through an area where I have no attic (my master bedroom has a high ceiling). However, I can't see any conduit at all on my roof except right at the edge where it comes down the side of my house. It runs down the side right next to the power line and the conduit is the same color so it really looks fine to me.

That's right. Its my garage but still look at all that conduit all over the place. Is your main breaker panel in the basement? Mine is in the garage.

Attached is another pic with an external inverter. Its looks better than the internal and probably only one AC breaker is required (instead of the two with the internal inverter)

[NYHeel]

That's right. Its my garage but still look at all that conduit all over the place. Is your main breaker panel in the basement? Mine is in the garage.

Attached is another pic with an external inverter. Its looks better than the internal and probably only one AC breaker is required (instead of the two with the internal inverter)

Yes, my main panel is in the basement. The installers actually couldn't put the inverter outside because there just wasn't enough room on that side of the house. I have a side door entrance with steps and lots of concrete over there. Also, my conduit is a little closer to the main line on the side of my house. Probably less than a foot away. I'll try and take a few pictures of my basement to show you what it looks like on the wall there.

Which installer did you end up going with? I finished my job with town inspection 2 weeks ago. Waiting on PSE&G to swap out meters. I called them and they're about 2.5 weeks behind in even scheduling when they'll come out. However, I have an older analog meter and it does work to run backwards currently.

[shet]

Yes, my main panel is in the basement. The installers actually couldn't put the inverter outside because there just wasn't enough room on that side of the house. I have a side door entrance with steps and lots of concrete over there. Also, my conduit is a little closer to the main line on the side of my house. Probably less than a foot away. I'll try and take a few pictures of my basement to show you what it looks like on the wall there.

Which installer did you end up going with? I finished my job with town inspection 2 weeks ago. Waiting on PSE&G to swap out meters. I called them and they're about 2.5 weeks behind in even scheduling when they'll come out. However, I have an older analog meter and it does work to run backwards currently.

Same one as yours. I have applied for PSEG Solar Loan and so will have to wait till Jul end to know if they accepted my SREC bid price. And then the install can start.

Here are two picture of my exterior and the interior (garage) behind it. My garage is very small and to save space I am even more inclined to keep the inverters outside.

[NYHeel]

Same one as yours. I have applied for PSEG Solar Loan and so will have to wait till Jul end to know if they accepted my SREC bid price. And then the install can start.

Here are two picture of my exterior and the interior (garage) behind it. My garage is very small and to save space I am even more inclined to keep the inverters outside.

I think that's a good idea on the PSEG loan. I should probably have done it too. Would have gotten over 50% of the cost of the system from there. But I was a little greedy and thought I could do better on my own due to the high fees and crazy high interest rate. We'll see what ends up happening with the SREC pricing.

[solarix]

Aesthetics is in the eye of the beholder. I often marvel at how some customers abhor the "look" of a cool blue solar array but don't mind all the plumbing vents and other stuff sticking out of their roof. Plumbing vents are atrocious looking if you ask me - but people are used to them so not a problem. Yes, conduits are an eyesore and yet many, many houses have external conduit showing and it is not a problem for resale value etc. Generally if you paint conduit to match, people will totally forget that its there. However, with some planning and some extra work, they can be hidden in the walls and your resale value could make a difference. On a high end home, people generally do not accept a lot of conduit showing. The DC side of a solar system does need to be in metal (EMT) conduit, but the AC side doesn't - allowing use of cable, which is much easier to snake through a wall (some AHJs won't go along with this however).

[Engineer]

Looks like they used flex conduit, why not rigid which looks much better IMO? I have a solar electrical panel and box in my garage, at first I asked if they could hide the conduit in the wall but then dropped it when I realized what a pain that would be to do, if possible. Glad I did, it's next to the HVAC and water heater so fits right in with the rest of that stuff and looks pretty cool, nice to see a physical reminder of my power generation when I go in the garage.

I also have a electric car station next to it and will get Storage too sometime so it's par for the course. Now conduit outside is ugly IMO, especially on the roof when they have to run it for the panels. But in the house? Maybe I worked too many years in laboratories but I like the look.