Long Beach, CA · June 2021 · Southern California Edison / City of Long Beach
The modules were up. Four jobs were still left
Thirteen modules went on in a day and the owner reported the installation complete. The list that remained was short, unglamorous and the reason the inspection passed.
On this Long Beach house thirteen REC 445 W modules went up in a single day and the owner understood the installation to be finished. Four jobs remained: painting the conduit, making the stucco good where it had been opened, fitting the placards and commissioning the system. Cali Energy completed all four before the final inspection, which passed in the middle of June 2021.
At a glance
- Array
- 13 modules, REC 445 W — 5.79 kW DC
- Inverter
- SolarEdge
- Service
- No main panel upgrade required
- Installed
- 8 June 2021, in a day
- Still to do
- Paint, render, placards, commissioning
- Final inspection
- Passed mid-June 2021
- Utility / AHJ
- Southern California Edison / City of Long Beach
The story
Thirteen modules went onto a composition shingle roof in a day, with a string inverter on the wall and no main panel upgrade needed. By the evening it looked finished from the street, and the owner said so.
Four things were still outstanding, and the list is worth reading because it is the same list on most installations and almost never appears in a quote.
Paint the conduit. New galvanized pipe against an old stucco wall is the most visible thing a solar installation leaves behind, and painting it to the wall color is the difference between equipment and a scar. Make the stucco good where it was opened — any wall that had to be cut for a penetration or a box gets closed properly rather than filled and forgotten. Fit the placards, which are the labels an inspector reads before anything else. And commission the system, which is the only one of the four that actually makes electricity.
Two of those four are cosmetic and two are not, and an inspector cares about the ones that are not. Missing placards fail an inspection on the spot; an uncommissioned system cannot be demonstrated. So the final was booked for the week after the array went up rather than the day after, with the outstanding work done in between.
The final was booked for the week after the array went up rather than the day after, and it passed in the middle of the month with all four done.
If your array goes up and somebody tells you it is done, ask for the list. Paint, render, placards, commissioning: four items, a few hours, and the difference between a finished job and a roof full of modules.
How it ran
| 4 June 2021 | Install scheduled and materials collected |
|---|---|
| 8 June 2021 | Thirteen modules installed in a day |
| 11 June 2021 | Outstanding list set out: paint, render, placards, commissioning |
| Mid-June 2021 | Conduit painted and the stucco made good |
| Same week | Placards fitted and the system commissioned |
| Mid-June 2021 | Final inspection passed |
A day on the roof, a week to actually finish, and the inspection depended on the week.
What we did
- Installed thirteen REC 445 W modules and the wall equipment in a single day.
- Painted the conduit to the wall color rather than leaving bare galvanized pipe.
- Made the stucco good where the wall had been opened.
- Fitted the placards an inspector reads before anything else.
- Commissioned the system and passed the final inspection in mid-June 2021.
System specifications
| Modules | 13 × REC 445 W — 5.79 kW DC |
|---|---|
| Inverter | SolarEdge, wall mounted |
| Roof | Composition shingle |
| Main panel | Unchanged, no upgrade required |
| Finishing | Conduit painted, stucco made good, placards fitted |
| Commissioning | Completed before the final |
| Utility / AHJ | Southern California Edison / City of Long Beach |
Is your project like this one?
- Your modules are up and you are not sure whether the job is finished.
- You have bare conduit on your wall and nobody has mentioned painting it.
- Your wall was opened for a penetration and left patched.
- You want to know what an inspector actually looks at first.
- Your system is installed but has never been switched on.
Cali Energy in Long Beach
Long Beach is its own city, not a Los Angeles neighborhood: permits run through the City of Long Beach Building & Safety Bureau, interconnection through Southern California Edison.
The day the modules go on is the day a homeowner tells their neighbors the solar is done. It is not. Paint, render, placards and commissioning all come afterwards, and a Long Beach inspector will look for at least two of them before signing anything.
This installation is on the Long Beach projects page alongside the others, and what the work covers is set out on the Long Beach service area page.
- License and classifications: CSLB #1032379
- Official reference for this process: City of Long Beach — Permit Center
- Official reference for this process: California Energy Commission — solar equipment lists
Frequently asked questions
Is the job finished when the modules are up?
No, and this is the most common misunderstanding in solar. After the array there is usually conduit to paint, stucco to make good where the wall was opened, placards to fit and the system to commission. Two of those are cosmetic and two are required — an inspector will fail a job for missing labels and cannot pass a system that has never been switched on.
Should the conduit be painted?
It should, on any visible elevation. New galvanized pipe against weathered stucco is the most noticeable thing an installation leaves behind, and painting it to the wall color takes an hour. It is not required by anybody, which is exactly why it is worth asking whether it is included before you sign.
What are the placards for?
They tell anybody working on the building that there is a second source of power and where to switch it off. An inspector reads them before looking at anything else, and a system missing them fails on the spot regardless of how well the rest is built. They cost very little and they are not optional.
Does Cali Energy finish the wall as well in Long Beach?
Yes — painting the conduit, closing and repainting the stucco where it was opened, fitting the placards and commissioning the system are part of the job rather than extras. Cali Energy books the Long Beach final only once all of that is done, because the inspection depends on it. License CSLB #1032379.
What this would look like on your roof
Every number above came off a real job in Long Beach, CA — not a brochure. Tell us your utility, your roof and what your bill looks like now, and we will model your own version of it before you commit to anything.
Or call +1 (323) 844-7777 · Cali Energy, Northridge · CSLB #1032379 (B, C-10, C-39) — design, permits, install and electrical under one licensed contractor.
Related
This timeline reflects this property and this permitting path. Updated September 2026.