Renovation Projects
We often get questions from clients who are embarking on major home remodels, or new construction projects. The guide below provides a brief overview of the most common projects we encounter.
With each & every project our advice is the same – get us involved as early in the process as possible.
To discuss your project, please fill out our estimate form.
The most important thing to consider on an ADU is that you will likely be required to install a new second meter from PG&E. This is unfortunate – as there is great benefit in having your own “microgrid”. But sadly, we usually must work within the confines of that policy – one meter per street address.
Even if we cannot set up a microgrid on your property – although sometimes we can! – we still have a lot of advice regarding the design of your electrical system and integration of the renewable energy system in the building structure. Things we can discuss early in a project lifecycle include:
- Decreasing the size of grid meter main electric service, considering the contribution of renewables, can expedite your PG&E new meter application and save cost.
- Advantages of getting solar on the main house instead of ADU to satisfy the code requirement.
- Location of equipment, and schedule of install with other trades for best outcomes.
Getting us involved early will help ensure the best outcome – and avoid re-work.
An extensive home remodel is the perfect time to consider how your home will fare in a power outage. It is incredibly rare that people install enough battery to back up the entire house – especially as homes turn away from gas, the entire electric load is too large and the battery required would be too expensive. So we segment your home loads, creating a “backed up loads” subpanel.
Often times, battery projects in older homes are challenged by subpanels buried inside interior walls that are expensive and difficult to access. This makes a home battery system unfeasible in some projects – or in others we must rely on ‘smart controls’ which create a possible point of failure down the road.
A remodel is the perfect time to select an ideal location for your battery system, and re-wire circuits to that location while the walls are open. Especially considering the needs and possibilities of Electric Vehicle two-way charging (V2H) we can make some smart decisions now, that will serve you into the future.
We are happy to work with your electrician or general contractor to discuss these changes well in advance of beginning our work – the sooner the better!
What’s funny to us is most solar companies refuse to work with roofer’s schedules. They insist that a solar retrofit after the roof work is complete is just the same as installing on the plywood when the roof is off. Of course, this claim is only meant to support their business model, which is speed and quantity over everything. And it’s simply not true.
We pride ourselves on having a great working relationship with many local roofers. Not only is it intuitively better to have solar mounts flashed and sealed into your new roof by the roofing company – it also limits the amount of time a crew of solar workers need to spend scrambling around on your brand new shingles, causing immediate wear and tear on your new roof. And possibly voiding your roof warranty!
We follow the best practice:
- Your roofer removes your old shingles.
- We come install solar mounts directly on your roof deck.
- The roofer comes back and installs your new roof, flashing around each of our penetrations just like any other vent or protrusion.
- We come back when the roof is finished to install the solar panels on top of our mounts.
- You maintain your roofing warranty.
- Your solar system (and roof) last many decades.
- Everyone is happy!
Our company does offer meter main upgrades in conjunction with renewable energy projects or EV charger installation. However, if you are doing more extensive electrical work – or you just have another electrician chosen for the electrical upgrade work – that’s no problem, we are happy to work with them!
In any case, before you embark upon a costly electrical main panel upgrade please consult with us. It may be that your grid-power needs are diminished after adding renewable energy, and you actually don’t require a service upgrade. Or, if you do require an upgrade, we can offer recommendations about equipment selection, location and best practices to ensure that you’re solar and battery ready.
The most important thing to consider when switching out electrical panels is the physical location and integration of major new loads such as heat pumps – and whether or not they will be backed up in a power outage. The choice of which circuits you place on your meter main versus a subpanel can make the future installation of a battery much simpler. And for EV’s we must consider the possibility they will actually become an integral part of that battery backup system, either now or in the future.
Please contact us today, and we’ll be happy to consult with you and/or your electrician on your project.
“If more companies went about their business the way you do we consumers would be a lot better off!”
- Jacki, Berkeley CA