PV System: 2. Purchase

I chose wholesalesolar.com because during my research this website kept showing up in the conversation. Their website is clean, well laid out and easy to use. Their sales and tech support is DIY focused and promptly answer all the questions I had. Everything about the experience made me feel at ease spending $5,000 on a product I didn’t get to see in person.

What comes in the DIY install kit

• 7x microinverters
• long cable that connects the 7 microinverters together
• 7x adapters to connect the panel to the microinverter
• 1x waterproof coupling to connect the cable to the junction box
• 1x waterproof termination for the other end of the cable
• 1x disconnect tool
• 14x flat roof attachments
• 14x legs for the roof attachments

• Enphase Envoy monitoring system that provides realtime production and consumption data. 2x consumption meters (square shape, you won’t see this on your BOM because it comes as part of the Envoy), 1x production meter (circle shape, included in the kit).

• The flat roof attachments (round things) and the rack mounts that attach to those attachments.

• Ground lugs, you get two of them, one for each row of solar panels so you can connect a ground wire in between.

Additional things I had to purchase

• Winch for the ladder hoist ($100)

• Hot air gun for welding the TPO membrane flashings ($25).

• Vacuum suction holder ($20) – help lift the panels over the ladder and onto the roof.

• 2p 10amp circuit breaker for envoy

• 2p 15amp circuit breaker for the PV system

• Non-fused disconnect switch ($100). This is a requirement in my city for PV system. You don’t need fused because you already have circuit breakers.

• #6 Grounding copper wire

• #14 Electrical wire, one set of black and one set of red#14 fasteners – 5in length, to fasten the flat roof attachments to the roof. I made a mistake on the length. Should have bought 4in. Know the thickness of your roof, by testing out one fastener first.

• PVC electrical pipe and elbow connectors.

• Connector lugs to connect #6 copper wire together.

• Junction box, where the cable from the microinverter hook into the wires that will run to the disconnect switch.

• A plastic wifi-friendly covering for the enphase envoy, because it will be mounted on the wall on the outside.