Confederacy of Dunces

“When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.”

Jonathon Swift

After leaving New Orleans one fine day, I spent a little time in the Atlanta Airport bookstore.  I found this interesting looking book titled, “A confederacy of Dunces”, by John Kennedy Toole.  As I sat down on a plane headed for Tallahassee, FL, I started to read.  By the 3rd page, I was laughing uncontrollably and everyone else on the plane must have thought that I was a lunatic.

Toole had written the book in the 60s.  His work was turned down by a number of publishers and he committed suicide in 1969.  His mother took the manuscript to a professor at Loyola and demanded that he read it.  Reluctantly, he did.  The book was published in 1980 and won a Pulitzer Prize.

As I reflect on the momentum renewable energy is experiencing, I am convinced that solar will be the genius of our generation.

And so, the Dunce Awards:

CALIFORNIA STATE FIRE MARSHAL–Kate Dargan, with the stroke of a pen, has undone the solar rights for Californians where no one else could. By limiting the roof surface that can be used for solar, she has done more damage to solar rights and to the solar movement in California than any other person or entity.  For this, she gets a coveted dunce award.

SOLAR CONSULTANTS AND TRAINERS–There is a cadre of solar consultants who train people who work in building departments across the State of California.  These consultants also have input to changes to the National Electrical Code which is getting more complex with every version.  In the 2008 Version of 690, the grounding section is so bad that it should be ignored and the 2011 version should be used.  It is in the best interest of the consultants for uncertainty and change to be built in to the document so that they can teach more people to be in compliance.  More complexity = more training = more money.  For this, they get a dunce award.

BUILDING PLAN CHECKERS–In an era when most municipalities will approve a 200 amp service upgrade over the counter, a solar permit is often quite complex.  Plan checkers in the same city will often approve a permit, and then 3 weeks later, reject an identical permit because they now require a note saying, “This installation will meet NEC 690.x….”  Many of these changes are driven by the consultants, above, training plan checkers for all the little notes and signs that, “should be contained in a solar permit”.  Remember that complexity drives the consulting business.  Each trip to make corrections costs the solar customer money.  One permit was recently rejected because it didn’t have page numbers.  For this, several building departments get a dunce award.

BUILDING INSPECTORS–We recently had an inspection failure because we used a UL approved Outback string fusing combiner with the approved fuse holder with an approved fuse.  After numerous phone calls and emails, we were finally able to get the inspection approved but had to meet the inspector for a second time to get the final signature.  Once again, this costs the customer money.  The NEC and building codes are misinterpreted often by untrained Inspectors as well as trained but confused Inspectors who have attended the training classes above.  There is no consistency from building department to building department.  For this, at least a few of them, get a dunce award.

NEW SOLAR HOMES PROGRAM–This is the worst program on the planet.  Dunce Award.

SAN DIEGO GAS and ELECTRIC–In many cases, customers have a small 100 amp service and want a solar system that is too large for the service.  About 20-30 years ago, SDGE recommended that builders use direct burial cable from the transformer to the service.  They have now found that the cable is deteriorating and they are losing power into the ground.  SDGE doesn’t want to pay for the cost of their mistake.  There is a method in the NEC that allows a supply side tap.  In this instance, a new meter box would be installed and the service would be tapped to allow for the larger solar array.  SDGE, however, now requires that if there is a rewire, the contractor must trench approximately 30″ deep all the way to the pull box or transformer and put in new conduit.  This can cost an additional $3000-$4000 or more. Then, SDGE may charge up to $1000 for the priviledge of fixing their mistake.  Even though is is really smart on their part, they still get a dunce award.

HOME OWNERS ASSOCIATIONS–Some HOAs are very ernest about going green and some are rediculous.  A recent HOA tried to force us to violate the 2007 California Building Code, 2007 California Fire Code and the 2005 National Electrical Code in order to be aesthetically pleasing.  For this, a few of them get a dunce award.

If you have a dunce award that you would like to submit, please comment below.

Once again, I am convinced that  solar may be the true genius of our generation.  The proof of this is that there is a confederacy of dunces aligned against it, and yet, it continues to get stronger month by month, year by year.

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