Flat roof setbacks in California

[J.P.M.]

I find in my area that the fire officials could care less about solar and over reach the code rules concerning roof access in the name of fire safety. They do not appreciate how much these rules impact the number of solar homeowners that can't do a cost effective system.

I'd guess most PV vendors aren't firefighters, volunteer or otherwise and so may not appreciate how much the setback rules impact firefighter safety.
I wonder what % of all U.S. firefighters have PV systems on their roofs and if so, how they feel about fire setbacks.

[fraser]

The saga continues... So I had called the fire dept last week, before speaking with bldg dept, and they finally called me back. Said they follow CA fire code and not the "message" I got from the bldg dept. Said fire dept would be approving the system for setbacks, not the bldg dept, so my original plan would be fine. We went over it several times. So... submit original plan that is 1kw higher? Or new plan that complies with the rules that don't exist? I'd much rather have a 16k system for the same price as the 15k system...

[Calsun]

Code changes often are 3-5 years behind changes in technology or building design and materials. There still needs to be an intelligent human involved. There is a NEC code about providing a cut-off switch with a solar power source but I have seen photos the switch was more than 8 feet above ground level. Technically the installer met the code requirement but they and the homeowner should have realized that the switch location was a bad one.

[SunEagle]

Code changes often are 3-5 years behind changes in technology or building design and materials. There still needs to be an intelligent human involved. There is a NEC code about providing a cut-off switch with a solar power source but I have seen photos the switch was more than 8 feet above ground level. Technically the installer met the code requirement but they and the homeowner should have realized that the switch location was a bad one.

Yeah. You would think what was written should include that the switch is readily accessible by the homeowner or first responder from the ground or it becomes just another component in the system.