Solar install, attachment not installed

Technical Questions
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#1

I’m not sure what to do. I had solar installed today. I told the salesman twice to give the electricians a heads up about this, I told the crew to do it. They hooked and booked, literally ghosted out. I didn’t hear any noise and they were all gone.

So now it will be a week or so before the utility comes out to inspect the installation and give it the OK to activate.

I have no idea how to install the solar attachment. I still can’t even fix the two outlets in my kitchen wall that shorted and they’re just not working.

I can follow instructions well but I’m not sure how to proceed in getting this attachment I paid for to work properly.

When I first hired an electrician to install Sense, he wouldn’t touch the solar attachment and made a big deal about it, I didn’t care because I thought it would be taken caare of during the solar install.

How hard/dangerous will this be to try myself?

#2

it’s not that hard looking back and I am not an electrician. I used this video to show me how.

One of the hardest thing is making sure you have extra space for new breaker. I had none so I had to get a few tandem to make it fit.

#3

It’s not hard… in fact it’s super easy…

It’s just also super dangerous and super risky if you don’t know what you are doing… you are, after all, dealing with electricity…and even though you are turning off the mains, part of the panel is always charged.

The biggest challenge I faced was space… My mains did not have enough clearance for the CT clamps, so I had to move them to the bus bars…and even my bus bars had such tight tolerances, I was unsure I would be able to get both CTs around them and properly closed.

I also had a tough time finding space in my panel for the main Sense devices. And because my panel is on the exterior of my home, mounting Sense outside the panel wasn’t really an option for me.

Other than that… very simple… but be extremely careful…and at the end of the day, please hire an electrician or have a friend who is comfortable with electricity if you aren’t comfortable inside an electric panel… it’s easy, but when it comes to electricity, a small mistake can be life or death…

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#4

So the electrician had to come back out to replace something in the breaker box. I asked them to install the attachment and gave him the box and the instructions. He brought the box up and left. I see the Sense meter is working. Solar is not activated yet pending utility inspection.

I look in the box and I see he removed the existing two rings and wire…

Uh, pretty sure that’s not correct. This is an attachment not a replacement.

So I see the YouTubes. Looks easy but I’m just not comfortable with working with a breaker box. I guess I would have to turn the power off outside where the solar is, then the switch to the breaker box somewhere, in both places. Then follow the instructions hope I don’t blow the house and/or myself up.

#5

Be very careful if you decide to do this… Wear gloves, shut the main breakers off before you take the cover off to expose the breaker wires… Be careful when you remove the panel that it doesn’t brush up against any part of the upper “charged” area…

But yes, the actual process is dead easy… It’s the fact that you are dealing with electricity that elevates the danger factor…

#6

Thanks yeah This is so frustrating. I think I’m just going to pay an electrician.

If anyone knows… Does it matter what clamps/wires go where for the main and the solar?

Because this guy replaced my existing setup with the solar attachment stuff. Sense is working now. I just need to know if I need to have the electrcian I hire to 100% reverse what was done first, or if he can leave it be and just add what was removed back in but to the solar.

#7

Yes it does matter which clamp goes where. One set goes to main and other to solar. if you can, take a picture of the current install inside the breaker box.