Jim C.’s Solar Installation

Here is Jim Cannaliato and his Grid-tied system with Battery Backup!:

“I am a software engineer by trade, and I’ve done robots and other electronic projects as hobbies. I’m also reasonably handy but not a professional. I put solar on my travel trailer, so the home solar project was larger and more complex.

My roof is steep, around 10-12 pitch, so installing the rails and panels was challenging. I purchased a roofing harness for safety. The other issue was finding the rafters. I ended up screwing pretty powerful magnets along each rafter inside the attic, and this enabled me to find those spots on the roof with additional magnets. Stud finders were useless.

I laid out the rails for both arrays on my driveway and then ran the wiring, Fire Raptors, etc., all ahead of time on the ground. I took pictures of it before installing them on the roof. This made the wiring process on the roof go much faster.

The other thing that concerned me was the electrical inspection. I had to pass the inspection to interconnect to the grid. I ended up doing a consult with the inspector and then hired an electrician for the AC work. This smoothed the process considerably.

I did the rails and all the DC wiring myself. I got help to install the panels on the roof.

My system has two arrays on two separate roof surfaces. Installing the racks and wiring them took about a week for each array. The company I hired for the AC work sent four electricians, and they worked for 2 days to complete the work. Running wires through the attic took another week, and installing the panels only took a day.

When the panels finally were installed, everything just worked! It was awesome. I was so excited when the power started flowing.”

Send us your story if you’re an Unbound customer with a DIY installation! We want to share your excitement!