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?

2 comments

2 Comments

angelamurphy9h 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.

zaranelson2h 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?