With the core structure of the house built, things begin moving quickly. Since the plumbing placements were finalized before the concrete slab was poured, the next big step is the electrical wiring. For this, I stop by the house to meet with the electrician to discuss the electric panel and placements of outlets, switches, and fixtures. One of the biggest obstacles that we ran into is the constantly-changing electrical code.
This is particularly true for the kitchen, which now requires electrical outlets be no further than 48 inches from each other and no point on the countertop to be more than 24 inches from an outlet, but outlets on the end of islands and peninsulas are no longer allowed. A key reason that this is challenging. It is because there is a kitchen counter connected to an exterior wall and drilling into the 1’3” building envelope would negatively impact the air exchange rate.
As the electrical is being installed, we begin working with Xcel Energy, the local utility, to get the house connected to the grid. Unfortunately, according to regulations, the transformer was placed too far away from the house, meaning that it would need to be moved closer – delaying hook up by a few weeks to a month.
After the electrical wiring is installed, other aspects of the house start coming together. The interior walls are quickly put up, the dense packed cellulose insulation goes into the walls and crawl space, and the windows and doors are installed. During this time, I often stop by over the weekends to see the progress and on one weekend, the dry wall crew was working.
Following greetings and introductions, one of the first things the team lead says to me is, “I can tell how well insulated the house is,” as he explains that even though it is around 10°F outside, they did not need to turn on the generator in over 12 hours. Another weekend that I pop by after the house was connected to the grid, there is a very small space heater running, and even though it is -5°F outside, the sun shining through the south-facing, triple-pane windows and the thick insulation has the house temperature at what feels like a balmy 85°F. Both are important data points validating the energy efficiency of the Passivhaus design.
When we reached out to Xcel to hook up the electricity, I had also reached back out to some PV installers that I previously met with in order to select one. After one PV installer sent me an email titled “Price for Solar Increasing – Tariffs Hiked on Bifacial Models to 50%”, I decided not to work with them as this seemed like a misleading scare tactic for a residential installation. However, there are two other installers who I had spoken with that were very knowledgeable and trustworthy – and it is hard to pick with whom to work.
Roadblock
It is at this stage that I run into the biggest road block – the utility. After intentionally designing my house and roof for an optimized PV system (including the azimuth of the home and roof style and angle), I learn that Xcel has decided to red zone my area, claiming congestion. This means that the utility is not automatically approving interconnection of PV systems in the area, and may even completely deny the request. Approvals can take up to 5 months, if ever.
As a homeowner, this is devastating. I was planning on taking advantage of the IRA’s tax credits and leveraging state incentive programs. Plus, the PV system is essential for turning my sustainable house into a net zero home. As a PV professional, this is infuriating. Especially since, never once when I was trying to hook up my house to the grid to buy electricity from Xcel did the company deny that request due to congestion in the area. So, I am now at the whim of the utility’s decision as to whether or not it decides to approve my PV system. More to come.
Jessica Fishman Director of Renewable Energy at Kiterocket, is a strategic marketing leader with nearly 20 years of experience, including seven years as head of global public and media relations at inverter maker SolarEdge. Passionate about addressing climate change by accelerating the clean energy transition, she has worked at leading renewables companies, building marketing and communications departments.
Read the first in the series of Building not your average dream home.
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I installed a 7.5 kw array in Minnesota; self-installed and went through many “hoops” with Xcel. I held an MN electrician’s license and had thought about this for years. I can understand your concern with the utility not being transparent and forthright with their (unilateral) decisions.
Is there a description of what a “red-zone” is and how it is determined?
Does the Public Utilities Commission have a contact person?
I can agree that this should not be a holdup in a state that wants to be energy independent by 2040
Good luck to you.
The phrase “Go electric, go electric, go electric” is what the utilities in California chanted for years. Right up until they started to loose customers money due to them going electric. Putting solar on a home now involves an understanding of a CFO to figure out their billing.
Let’s see, I never paid to have energy delivered to my home before, now I get a bill for about $20 monthly for the sheer joy of having my electricity delivered. And then I still pay for said electricity. Then, when the home generates additional electricity during the day, that electricity is sold back at 20% below my cheapest rate I buy it for. Hmmmm.
For the first two years my home had it’s system, SCE owned me money. Then, within 12 months, magically, I began to owe them. Weird how that happens. While it is still far less expensive with solar than without, it is now longer free, which is what was advertised by SCE themselves as they wanted us all to use alternative energy.
Just don’t take money out of my pocket.