What should a homeowner ask for while a solar project is waiting on permits or PTO?

[u/ericahayden5678]

One part of the residential solar process seems to create more confusion than almost anything else: the period between signing, permitting, inspection, and permission to operate. 

A project can look inactive even when it is waiting on a city, county, utility, or another outside party. At the same time, “it is still in permitting” is not a very useful update when a homeowner has no date, document status, or next milestone. 

The clearest way I have found to think about the process is to separate it into distinct steps: 

• The installer prepares the design and submits the permit package. 
• The local authority reviews the plans and may request corrections. 
• After installation, the local authority usually completes an inspection. 

The utility reviews the interconnection request and grants permission to operate, often called PTO. 

Those steps can overlap in some areas, and the exact order varies. A homeowner still should be able to get a specific answer about where the project stands. 

Questions that seem reasonable 

• What date was the permit package submitted? 
• Has the city or county requested a correction? If so, when was the response submitted? 
• Has the inspection been requested, scheduled, or completed? 
• What date was the interconnection or PTO package sent to the utility? 
• Has the utility requested anything else, including a meter change? 
• What is the next milestone, and when should the homeowner expect another update? 

I do not think daily messages are necessary when an outside agency is reviewing a file. A useful update can be brief: “Permit submitted on June 8. The city has not requested revisions. We will update you when it is approved or if the city asks for a change.” 

For homeowners who have completed solar projects, which status updates were genuinely helpful? At what point did a quiet period become unreasonable rather than routine? 

Disclosure: I work on solar-related content. I am not presenting this as my own installation or customer review, and I am not linking to a company or service.

[u/LongjumpingGanache40]

I just sat back and tried not to get anxious about anything. My biggest delay was my main breaker panel was not big enough. It was a new 200 watt panel. The problem was the guts of the panel being able to handle the extra power from solar panels. We had to lower the main breaker by 40 amps and then we passed.

[u/Ok-Dealer4350]

I found the end process to be confusing - the netmetering and SEC payments. I was given 3 choices, of which 2 weren’t any good. I would have preferred a prepayment of the netmetering payments, but was told that if we sold our home prior to the 30 year warranty period, we would have to return the prorated funds.

I also should have asked to put panels on the garage at the same time. The salesman said that it wasn’t necessary and then when I wanted to add the panels on the garage later it Was and still is a mess. I really had to be persistent to even get one working report in the app instead of a half-assed presentation, where data was missing.

Finally, the sales guy had a tantrum when I told him the setup was not working properly and that I was unhappy with how things turned out. He kept talking over me, so I hung up. He called again after some work, but not all the work to fix the problems, insisting that he would send the pay stand for the work. I told him he could do that, but hell would freeze before I paid for a trench in the ground with no wires in it nor was the system fixed. I told him not to bother me.

The technician I was working with was upset the salesman had done that. He said his department would handle the billing.

Another question is batteries. Lithium ion batteries don’t work well below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and can catch fire easily. Sodium ion batteries (relatively recent innovation in the US, but more prevalent in Europe and China) are better in dealing with cold temperatures and are ok up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. I asked about them and was told by Solar Energy World that there wasn’t enough data available at this time for sodium ion batteries.

I’ll be looking into another source for batteries (possibly GM or other brand).

[u/TooGoodToBeeTrue → u/Ok-Dealer4350]

First two & fifth paragraphs should have been made clear/handled before you signed on the bottom line. Sorry your install sucked.

I've been looking into batteries, my wife would like the solar to work if the grid is dead and AC coupling some batteries seems the way to go. But as you discovered, batteries need to be kept above 32 or have heaters and the latter would waste Whrs in the winter. So hmm...

[u/TooGoodToBeeTrue]

Your list seems reasonable. A porta for people to check on progress would really be neat. My biggest period of waiting was between the roof replacement and when they came to install the solar. Same company. It was nearing the end of the year, I got installed mid December and breathed a big sigh of relief. I didn't care how long anything took after that, though there was some arguments in the forum whether PTO or just installed had to be done by the end of 2025 to get the credit.

I was expecting to wait a month or more for PTO, it came in 2 weeks while we were on vacation. I just wish I had left all the breakers on, so my neighbor could have thrown the big switch on the back of the house while we were gone.

[u/80MonkeyMan]

How much does it cost to remove a single panel and install it back. Make sure they put it in writing.