As we indicated on this prior post City of Tucson Requires future solar connections we wanted to keep you abreast of the actual solar ready requirements. While this requirment has now been in effect for 6 days they City officially announced the requirements to comply. This is what I received in my in-box this morning:

On June 17, 2008, Mayor and Council unanimously voted to require all new residences to be solar ready for electric (PV) and hot water. Starting July 1, 2009, all new single family homes or duplexes must include in the plans either a Photo Voltaic system or preparation for later installation of a PV system in order to receive a building permit. More information is available at the following link: http://www.tucsonaz.gov/dsd/What_s_New/PV_Prep.pdf

The actual rules from this publication are as follows:

1. Provide a Site Plan showing the best space available for accommodating Photo Voltaic (PV) equipment (meter, disconnect & inverter) with minimum area of 4 square feet. Locate the PV equipment adjacent to the electrical service panel if feasible or on a wall close to the proposed collector panel space.

2. Show on the Site Plan the best roof space available for accommodating PV solar collector panels. Provide a roof structure designed for the additional collector dead loading (typically 4 lbs/SF).

3. Show a minimum 3,800 volt-ampere PV electrical load entry on the Service Load Calculation. This load is continuous as with heating and cooling loads.

4. Show an Electrical Panel Schedule with a 240 volt circuit breaker space labeled “reserved for Photo Voltaic”.

While these are not overly stringent requirements I do feel that they are lacking and not 100% solar ready for a “plug and play” situation. It would be nice to see at a minimum some conduit run from the roof to the electrical inverter location and it would also be nice to see the roof stand-off structure to be in place reducing the likelihood of future roof leaks or voiding a roof warranty.

Also remember there are other solar requirements for the solar hot water portion of this code as well. Refer to the prior article’s link for system or stub-outs and conduit required.

If you as a home builder or a owner looking to build in Arizona and want a home which is “solar ready” do contact a professional Architect and remember that codes are minimums and not always the best for every situation.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 9:30 am and is filed under Arizona, City of Tucson, Green, News, Sustainable. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.