The Solar Saga Continues
Aug. 22nd, 2025 04:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hrjWith the preface that none of this is in any way time-critical or a problem, I'm amused at the slow progress of getting my solar installation inspected and approved.
While I was off at Worldcon, I got a call (actually, I always get simultaneous text/call/email for every communication) about scheduling the solar company's QA inspection. They wanted to schedule it for this past Monday (when I wasn't home yet) so I convinced them to reschedule. They said they'd get back to me with a new date. A couple days ago, I get notification of an inspection this coming Monday. I assume this is the company QA inspection and confirm by text.
The other pending inspection is the return of the city inspector to follow up with the to-do items. It turns out (which I hadn't been aware of before) that in addition to getting permits pulled retrospectively for my new water heater and the electrical panel re-build, they had neglected to include the solar storage battery in the scope-of-work for their side of the inspection items. (I discovered this when reviewing permits associated with my address.)
I'd been in contact with my electrician about the panel permit before Worldcon but we were both busy that week, so I pinged him and set about learning the online permit process. The interface is straightforward and very well documented with instructions and examples, so I got the water heater permit set up on my own. Once again pinged the electrician and explained that he didn't have to handle the inspection side, just the permit. He said he'd take care of that yesterday evening. (Spoiler: the permit wasn't in the system this morning, but it's not really a big deal, as further events will show.)
This morning, in the middle of my bike ride, I get another call from the solar company scheduler. She explains that since we don't have everything lined up for the city inspection, that they've cancelled the Monday appointment. Oh, I said, I thought that was the other one -- the solar company QA inspection. No, it was the city inspection. Ok, I said, I have the one permit pulled and my electrician will have the other in a day or so and I'll provide the information. But they can't schedule the city inspection until we have all the ducks in a row. She's just about to start lobbing dates at me when I point out that I'm about to be out of town for two weeks. Oh, she says, well then we'll make sure to work around that once we have the permit information. I heave a quiet sigh of relief because at this point I'd rather not be trying to cram all the inspection activities in before my trip. I repeat everything back to her "to make sure I understand correctly" and delete the Monday appointment from my calendar. I am left with the impression that I was confused about there being two pending inspections, because I asked about it several times.
This afternoon, I get a text/email/call to schedule the solar company QA inspection for Monday. Head:desk. By the way, the solar company scheduler is always the same person, though I suppose I can forgive her for not keeping track of all the accounts individually. (Though that's what notes in the file are for. She should have been aware of the pending QA inspection when we talked earlier today.)
So at this point the permit # for the water heater has been sent to my contact, I'll give the electrician some grace before poking him again because honestly as long as I get the permit # for the panel before I leave the country and can pass it along, it's all good. The QA inspection will presumably be taken care of on Monday. And then I'll get the city inspection ideally the week after I get back.
But one more thing...remember how I had a jury duty summons that I had to reschedule because of my trip? That is also now scheduled for the week after I get back. I provided that information to the scheduler: "Jury duty summons for Thursday." She noted, "OK, so we won't schedule it for Thursday." Um...that's not always how jury duty works? But at that point I figured it will work out somehow.
While I was off at Worldcon, I got a call (actually, I always get simultaneous text/call/email for every communication) about scheduling the solar company's QA inspection. They wanted to schedule it for this past Monday (when I wasn't home yet) so I convinced them to reschedule. They said they'd get back to me with a new date. A couple days ago, I get notification of an inspection this coming Monday. I assume this is the company QA inspection and confirm by text.
The other pending inspection is the return of the city inspector to follow up with the to-do items. It turns out (which I hadn't been aware of before) that in addition to getting permits pulled retrospectively for my new water heater and the electrical panel re-build, they had neglected to include the solar storage battery in the scope-of-work for their side of the inspection items. (I discovered this when reviewing permits associated with my address.)
I'd been in contact with my electrician about the panel permit before Worldcon but we were both busy that week, so I pinged him and set about learning the online permit process. The interface is straightforward and very well documented with instructions and examples, so I got the water heater permit set up on my own. Once again pinged the electrician and explained that he didn't have to handle the inspection side, just the permit. He said he'd take care of that yesterday evening. (Spoiler: the permit wasn't in the system this morning, but it's not really a big deal, as further events will show.)
This morning, in the middle of my bike ride, I get another call from the solar company scheduler. She explains that since we don't have everything lined up for the city inspection, that they've cancelled the Monday appointment. Oh, I said, I thought that was the other one -- the solar company QA inspection. No, it was the city inspection. Ok, I said, I have the one permit pulled and my electrician will have the other in a day or so and I'll provide the information. But they can't schedule the city inspection until we have all the ducks in a row. She's just about to start lobbing dates at me when I point out that I'm about to be out of town for two weeks. Oh, she says, well then we'll make sure to work around that once we have the permit information. I heave a quiet sigh of relief because at this point I'd rather not be trying to cram all the inspection activities in before my trip. I repeat everything back to her "to make sure I understand correctly" and delete the Monday appointment from my calendar. I am left with the impression that I was confused about there being two pending inspections, because I asked about it several times.
This afternoon, I get a text/email/call to schedule the solar company QA inspection for Monday. Head:desk. By the way, the solar company scheduler is always the same person, though I suppose I can forgive her for not keeping track of all the accounts individually. (Though that's what notes in the file are for. She should have been aware of the pending QA inspection when we talked earlier today.)
So at this point the permit # for the water heater has been sent to my contact, I'll give the electrician some grace before poking him again because honestly as long as I get the permit # for the panel before I leave the country and can pass it along, it's all good. The QA inspection will presumably be taken care of on Monday. And then I'll get the city inspection ideally the week after I get back.
But one more thing...remember how I had a jury duty summons that I had to reschedule because of my trip? That is also now scheduled for the week after I get back. I provided that information to the scheduler: "Jury duty summons for Thursday." She noted, "OK, so we won't schedule it for Thursday." Um...that's not always how jury duty works? But at that point I figured it will work out somehow.
