Design Documentation, Permitting, and Safety
What the exam tests
This domain covers the permit drawing set, single-line and three-line diagrams, equipment schedules, labeling, utility interconnection applications, inspection readiness, and jobsite safety. The exam tests whether your design can be built, inspected, and approved.
Core rules
- Drawing set: cover sheet, site plan, roof plan, array layout, single-line/three-line diagram, elevation, structural details, calculations, and equipment schedule.
- Single-line: show utility service, meter, main disconnect, busbar rating, PV OCPD, inverter, rapid shutdown, grounding, and point of interconnection.
- Permits: electrical permit, building/structural review, utility interconnection application, and net-metering paperwork. Requirements vary by AHJ and utility.
- Labels: 690.56 placards, disconnect identification, rapid shutdown labels, source-circuit labels, and shock-hazard warnings. Labels must match installed equipment.
- Safety: fall protection, ladder safety, lockout/tagout, DC arc-flash awareness, PPE, and test-before-touch. PV conductors are energized in daylight.
- Closeout: as-built drawings, commissioning results, monitoring access, and O&M information.
Worked example
A 10 kW inverter has 32 A continuous output. The PV breaker must be at least 32 × 1.25 = 40 A. A 200 A service with a 200 A main breaker and a 40 A PV breaker gives 240 A, exactly 120% of the 200 A busbar, so the load-side connection is allowed under 705.12. The drawing set must show that busbar rating, the 40 A breaker, the 200 A main, and the rapid shutdown label. If the PV breaker were 50 A, the total would be 250 A and the design would need a main-breaker derate or a supply-side connection.
Traps
Omitting grounding from the single-line; using a generic label that does not match the disconnect; missing the structural letter; submitting before utility approval; assuming PV is off when the sun is up; no lockout plan.