Make Your Savings Shine This fully illustrated step-by-step guide provides the essential advice you need to successfully install your own solar array. And by doing it yourself, you'll recoup your initial investment faster than ever. Solar professional Joseph Burdick and veteran builder Philip Schmidt take you all the way from assessing your site, designing your system, and getting a permit to shopping for parts and installing the modules. You'll use the same thorough process that the pros do, find answers to all your questions, and set up a complete system for a fraction of the cost.

Introduction1  The Basics     Anatomy of a Solar-Electric System     Can I Install My Own PV System?     Going Solar – From Start to Finish     Working with Solar Professionals     Answering the Big Three2  Assessing Your Site     Measuring Area, Slope, and Azimuth     Sizing Your System with PVWatts     Snow, Wind, and Shade3  Choosing PV Hardware     Modules     Module Support Structures     Inverters and DC Optimizers4  Designing Your System     PV Circuit Fundamentals     The Design Process     Sample System Designs     One-Line Electrical Diagrams     Wire Types for PV Systems5  Getting Ready to Install     Permitting and Inspections     Shopping Solar     Solar Financials     Assembling Your Crew6  Mechanical Installation: Rooftop     Laying Out the Racking     Installing Footers and Rails     Installing Modules7  Mechanical Installation: Ground-Mount     Setting the Support Posts     Assembling the Ground-Mount Structure8  Electrical Installation     Final Project Steps     Running Conduit     Component Connections     Final Inspection and Turning On Your PV System9  Off-Grid System Design     Off-Grid Basics     Batteries     Sample Off-Grid System Design10  Beyond Installation: Tips for Troubleshooting, Maintaining, and Monitoring Your PV System     PV Safety Rules     Shutdown and Startup Procedures     Maintenance and Troubleshooting     Monitoring Your System Acknowledgments Glossary Metric Conversions Index