Market guide
Verify the one-line, permit and service plan
Lock the exact bill of materials, approvals, settings, accounts and replacement responsibilityThe final product is the permitted and commissioned system, not the inverter carton. The one-line, suffix-level bill of materials, string or branch schedule, listings, utility profile, monitoring ownership, test record and service agreement must describe the same installation.
Design
Freeze the exact equipment and calculations
List every inverter suffix, module, optimizer or rapid-shutdown device, battery, gateway, meter, CT, transfer device, disconnect, breaker, conductor, connector and communications part.
- Retain calculation inputs
- Keep module data, design temperatures, string and branch counts, bus or service calculation, fault and export limits and the source of every rating.
- Siting changes output and service
- Check roof heat, shade, snow, salt, flooding, drainage, fan or intake clearance, working space, conduit support, impact and safe replacement access.
Approval
Match listings, code, permit and utility profile
Verify the complete listed combination, adopted electrical and fire provisions, rapid shutdown, AFCI and ground-fault functions, labels, plans, permit and interconnection agreement.
- Certification is not permission
- A CEC or UL record supports equipment identity and testing. It does not approve a string, roof, battery, grid profile, export setting or utility connection.
- Do not energize ahead of approval
- Commissioning and permission to operate follow local inspector and utility requirements, including any witness, meter or anti-islanding test.
Handoff
Assign software, warranty and replacement ownership
Transfer site and monitoring accounts, document installer privileges and local credentials, export the as-built one-line and settings and identify who handles diagnostics, labor, freight and recommissioning.
- Cloud is not the power path
- Basic conversion can be local after commissioning, while history, alerts, forecasts, firmware and remote service depend on gateway, account, internet and vendor support.
- No commissioned system guarantees outcomes
- The permit, test and warranty cannot guarantee yield, clipping, savings, bill results, outage operation, fire safety, uptime, reliability or service response.
Evidence used
First-party sources behind this guide
- 01Current solar inverter equipment listCalifornia Energy Commission · checked August 19, 2026Open source
- 02Homeowner's guide to going solarU.S. Department of Energy · checked August 19, 2026Open source
- 03Solar interconnection standards and policiesU.S. Department of Energy · checked August 19, 2026Open source
- 04Solar photovoltaic system electrical safetyNational Fire Protection Association · checked August 19, 2026Open source