Welcome to Jim Colville’s website where I describe my independent solar consulting and advisory services that may relate to your upcoming solar project. Being independent I am not associated with any one solar company. My focus is with nonprofit organizations, churches and HOAs; commercial enterprises; and residential. A quick review of this site will only take a few minutes where you can see the services I provide and how I can help your organization. Visit Successes for 2025 Updates.
MY TYPICAL CLIENT
TYPICAL PURCHASE ARRANGEMENTS
SOLAR TECHNOLOGY
A solar installation is typically comprised of solar panels, inverters and are installed on some of type of structure. Solar energy batteries are also part of many installations. This page addresses these topics in a general manner to help you understand what’s in store for your upcoming project. Additional research may be needed to get into specifics. One objective of this page for you see that there is much more to an installation than presented by a contractor or input from other people you may know. Jim Colville’s experience will help you avoid common pitfalls with these types of projects.
Solar Panels
The panels are the most important component. The quality and cost of the panels is typically presented to the customer by the contractor and not challenged. Additionally, panel technology changes rapidly. The panels presented in the proposal may be in second place before the installation date. This can be a big issue in commercial installations due to the long permitting process. A quality contractor will suggest the newer panels that are typically produce more power for a lower cost. This is typically not an issue with residential projects. Jim Colville will help with this dialog to ensure the best outcome.
Inverters
Solar electricity is converted to DC at the panel level, yet the house or building needs AC electricity. Inverters do the job of converting the electricity to AC. Older technology uses string inverters and newer technology uses microinverters. I have seen many proposals with a higher price yet using string inverters. Only one string inverter is needed (sometimes more for large installations). There is one microinverter per panel with significant more power which leads to a higher cost. String inverters typically have a 10 year warranty and historically fail after about seven years. Microinverter warranties are typically 25 years. Most all permitting for residential projects required rapid shut down which typically requires microinverters. More on String and Microinverters. This is all fairly easy to understand but can be overwhelming as it’s new information and the contractor is pushing what’s best for them. This is where Jim Colville’s experience helps in weeding through the proposal and arriving at the best decision. Another advantage of microinverters is that the monitoring is at a higher level as it monitors each panel. You can see each panel’s production that highlights a problem inverter instantly.
Storage Battery
This is where the technology and the installer’s knowledge and experience, as well as having an experienced advisor, is important. Back to the DC – AC conversion as noted above. The inverter provides the AC but the battery needs DC input. So another inverter is needed for DC input and then, when discharged, it must be converted back to AC for ultimate use in the home or commercial building. There are plenty of inverters available, but now we have many different brands, compatibility issues and the quality of the components to deal with.
For residential, let’s say Enphase microinverters are used. Enphase also has its own battery. So the all the conversions are straight forward. For a Tesla battery, it’s more complicated but Tesla has done a great job with their inverter and battery technology so, again, no real issue. These are the more mainstream batteries but there are many other brands, both the batteries and inverters and the contractor may very well be presenting one of these. Care must be taken as to the quality and the contractor. It’s not unusual for the contractor to recommend the battery that they are getting a new great price on. For commercial projects, this issue is magnified tenfold. Commercial battery and inverters are extremely expensive, forcing the commercial customer to look for a lower-cost solution. This leads to less qualified contractors, substandard materials and iffy technology. This is where Jim Colville’s experience as the advisor is invaluable.
Structure
Residential solar projects are typically mounted on the roof and is fairly straight forward. Depending on the type of roof, how steep it may be, available square footage per section, layout for maximum solar production, trees or other sun-blocking issues, including the neighbor’s house, and other issues, the panels may need to be ground-mounted. Since the ground-mount structure must be constructed, the cost of the project will usually go up substantially. The distance from the house is also critical as conduit must be added. Commercial projects typically need a parking lot canopy structure, but roof-mounts work in certain conditions. Parking lot canopies are common, roof installation typically need reinforcement work, and ground mount is sometimes workable. As such, commercial projects typically cost more than expected. We tend to think about the home installation and the numbers don’t roll over to the commercial projects
SUCCESSES
I have assisted churches, nonprofit organizations and HOAs with their commercial solar projects, all being parking lot canopy-type installations. My services were project manager with their staff as a part of the project team or as a part of the project team with their project manager. In all cases, I assisted in obtaining the solar tax credit sharing agreements cutting 15-20% off the project costs. I also ensured they had best end product possible such as the color and design of the canopies, the canopy height, the correct inverters and most current solar panels, the things, little and big, that tend to be overlooked.
I have also assisted with the battery selection and installation to further reduce the electricity expense to almost zero. Among other things, solar savings go away in the evening and with deliver charges and the battery takes care of those issues.
My services with residential customers has always been limited as the installations are more straight forward with very few permitting issues. The solar tax credit for residential installation expires December 31, 2025 and with residential clients being somewhat self-sufficient, I will no longer offer services and will only accept new project when very specifically requested.
The solar tax credits for commercial projects expire December 31, 2027 and I can still assist in obtaining solar tax credit sharing agreements. However, most customers elect for direct pay, where they get the full credit, with the one-two year delay in receiving the payment or surprise application rejection. I expect that my solar services will sunset with these and other changes in the solar arena. I will continue provide general business consulting services.
was done and all the AC and DC issues mentioned above were an ongoing issue. Without the internal skill-set, engaging a knowledgeable professional is a must for a successful project.
Here are more examples where projects can go bad. Batteries carry a new level of technical challenges. Remember, solar produces DC electricity which must be converted to AC, thus the inverters. But the batteries operate on DC which mean the electricity has to be converted back to DC, store the electricity and convert it back to AC. Residential installations tend to go seamless but commercial is much more challenging with the technology, quality of inverters (trying to save costs) and experience of the contractor. One client, “knew more than me” and moved forward with the battery without after the solar was complete. They immediately got in trouble and brought me back into the picture once they saw the landmines. I brought in others to help and this project was completed successfully.
Again, another client, “knew it all”, and moved forward. Their board approved project required US made products and micro inverters, a good start. This was done successfully with the solar but, in the urge to “get it done now”, they completely ignored the inverter and US product mandate. My role ended with the solar but I continued to offer assistance which was rejected. The net result was incompatible inverters (and refusal to understand the issue), more technical issues with the replacement inverters and a failed system as they ran out of money. The net cost was $100,000+ in a battery “brick” in the closet and spending $3,000+ per month in excess SDGE billings for the delivery and evening charges which is now well overr $72,000. I suspect the losses are much larger but they have gone silent. “My neighbor installed a battery in two days and it works fine. What could go wrong with our (commercial) project.” Such a board member (actually most of the board) should not be making decisions on things they do not understand.”
Other failed projects I’ve seen are absolute ugly steel and design, canopy height issues, both too low (ugly and truck hits) and too high (cosmetically unappealing); not understanding what they contracted for, paying for services that are free under warranty, living with “they said” issues and more. String inverters on commercial projects are a disaster. Noisy and don’t measure the solar panels individually.
Enough on this, all projects, solar and non-solar, have their issues and management’s due diligence is a must. Large projects need a qualified project manager. Knowing your internal strengths and weaknesses and moving forward appropriately is critical.
I can be reached at:
Contact Us at: jmcadvisor.com/contact-us/
My general business consulting: