The day I watched a solar panel crew install backwards in 90 degree heat

Last June I was on a fencing job in Phoenix and this solar crew rolled up to an HOA community next door. I watched them spend 4 hours mounting panels facing north instead of south because the foreman had a map backwards and nobody double checked. They had to tear everything down and restart the next day, wasting probably 300 man hours and $15k in labor. The worst part was the homeowners were already mad about the HOA rules limiting panel placement on the roof. Has anyone else seen installers just ignore basic direction like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

jesse_cooper28d ago

You ever see someone work that hard to screw something up that bad? Four hours baking in Arizona heat just to realize you got your map upside down, that's a special kind of stupid. Bet the foreman didn't buy anyone lunch that day either. At least the homeowners got a free show of incompetence before the HOA drama really kicked off. $15k down the drain because one guy couldn't tell north from south on a piece of paper. That solar crew probably went right back to the same spot the next day and did it all over again sweating twice as much.

kai_bennett28d ago

Bruh I saw a crew in Phoenix do almost the exact same thing last summer. They framed out a whole patio cover facing the wrong direction, like 20 feet of aluminum and shade cloth all bolted up facing east instead of west. Took them three hours to get it standing and another hour to realize the sun was gonna be blasting them from 11am on. Foreman just stood there staring at the blueprint like it personally insulted his family. They had to unbolt everything, dig new post holes in 108 degree heat, and start over. Pretty sure the homeowners were watching from inside with iced tea and laughing.