Reducing the cost of residential-scale PV through “Plug & Play PV” systems and standardized electronic workflows

In the US, non-hardware costs comprise the bulk of the cost of residential PV Systems, driven in large part by time and expense associated with securing regulatory approvals and with PV System installation. A methodology to enable the commercialization of “Plug & Play” PV Systems and the adoption of an electronic regulatory approval process based on (1) standardized data exchange protocols, and (2) electronic proof of code compliance is presented. This Plug & Play PV framework has been applied to develop demonstration PV Systems that were installed and commissioned by novice installers in less than 75 minutes, and that secured approvals using an electronic PI&I process.