Rant: I think residential solar installs are getting way too sloppy with their grounding

Went to a house in Chattanooga last month to fix a fence issue and saw a solar crew wrapping ground wire around a rusty bolt on a roof rack. They told me it was fine because they had it bonded somewhere else. I've been doing this 12 years and that's just asking for a fire hazard. I know solar is booming and guys are in a rush, but skipping proper grounding bonds is dangerous. Anyone else seeing this junk work on new solar jobs?

3 comments

3 Comments

angelamurphy27d ago

Fair enough, but I've seen crews do it that way for years with no issues... as long as the main bond is solid, the extra connection isn't always needed. A lot of older racking systems used those rusty bolts too, and they passed inspection back then.

zaranelson27d ago

Honestly, "passed inspection back then" doesn't really mean much now. Standards change for a reason, usually after enough failures got caught. @angelamurphy I'm not saying the whole rack will fall, but skipping a solid bond just to save a few minutes feels like asking for a nuisance callout later. And those old rusty bolts holding up fine is more luck than good practice, you know?

coleman.hannah27d ago

Wait, "the extra connection isn't always needed"? That's wild to me. I've seen a bond failure on a commercial roof rack that caused a whole solar panel to slide off during a highway drive (it smashed into a minivan behind them, total nightmare). A single loose bolt on an old system is one thing, but skipping any secondary bonding on purpose feels like playing with fire. Especially with those rusty bolts you mentioned - sure, they held then, but rust doesn't get better with age, it gets worse. That's just basic physics, no?