As Adam reported yesterday, Akeena solar panels with integrated Enphase micro-inverters will now be available for purchase at Lowe’s stores in California. Although solar installers have been using Enphase micro-inverters for a while now, this is the first panel to be offered at retail to the public. Easy access, easy solar. Or is it?
The idea behind micro-inverters is that you take the guesswork, and much of the danger, out of wiring the complicated exchange of energy necessary to not only transform the raw DC electricity generated by solar modules into usable AC power, but to deliver that energy at the correct voltage to the utility grid. The simplicity of the micro-inverter approach is really brilliant, and has definitely made many installations easier and cleaner.
The problem is making solar installations seem too easy. Just because you can buy a solar panel with its own neat little inverter while you’re picking up new lightbulbs does mean you can go home and install them both with the same ease. To mount these on a roof, and to wire a whole system, and to troubleshoot, and to make sure you’re staying within safety limits takes considerable electrical expertise. You may be able to get away with a bit of handyman’s electrical knowledge and the ever-helpful internet; but you may not be getting away with it efficiently or safely.
You also haven’t begun to touch on the other components of a solar installation that make a whole project so complicated: how to angle the solar panels to maximize not only energy production, but also cost savings (yep, they’re two different things, depending on your utility’s rate structure); how to design the array so that it looks appealing on your roof for the next 25 years; how to mount the modules securely, without damaging your roof; how to record each of your steps to satisfy both your local inspector and the bodies in charge of rebate funds and tax credits; and lots more.
I tend to get on a soapbox about this, but I feel it can’t be stressed enough: solar is not easy. It is not simple. And it is not safe. Even a relatively self-contained module like Akeena’s new product is still a big piece of equipment that generates electricity, and mismanaged electricity can kill you or set your house on fire. It’s not a wind-up toy.
It may be that the panels’ availability at Lowe’s will appeal to installers who are short on equipment rather than to homeowners themselves, or to homeowners who want to buy the equipment and have pros install it. A word of warning here, too, is that many installers will not work with equipment they did not purchase themselves. This has nothing to do with wanting to pull one over on you–on the contrary, working with equipment they control from the moment it arrives from the manufacturer/distributor is just far safer than working with unknown materials. Plus, they can’t offer you a service guarantee if they don’t can’t answer for every single piece of equipment they used for your installation.
Solar panels with integrated micro-inverters are an industry-changing achievement and I could not be happier to see this technology advancing quickly. All I intend to stress is: don’t let off the shelf solar convince you that solar arrays are safe to play around with as a hobby, or that you can now install a system as well as an experienced solar installer can. There are times when you absolutely should roll up your sleeves and tackle a home-improvement project yourself–but installing solar isn’t one of them.
Just a note on safety: When properly installed, solar panel installations are completely, beautifully safe. That’s why they can sit up on your roof for 25-30 years or more, and one reason why solar is such a great distributed energy resource.
There will always be a hardcore DIY market, and this is a great move for that segment.
Still, most people that consider this will want professionals to drill holes that don’t leak on their roof, and local permitting departments will make DIYers jump through hoops, and it’s hard to say whether warranties or rebates will apply when installations are done by non-professionals.
Like anything, there’s good and bad. I say DIY solar has its place, and I hope it becomes easier and easier in the future. But professional installers don’t need to sweat, and in fact, my company works with DIYers to help them do the work they want to do, in the right way.