Mission Hills, Los Angeles, CA · December 2024 · LADWP / LADBS
A hip roof, nineteen modules in small groups, and one December day
A hip roof has no big face to fill, so the modules went on in small groups across several faces. The whole installation, from the first mount to the panel, was done on 6 December 2024.
This Mission Hills installation is 7.6 kW DC: nineteen Hyundai HiS-S400YH(BK) 400 W modules, each with an Enphase IQ8M microinverter, in small groups across the faces of a composition shingle hip roof. Cali Energy installed it in one day, 6 December 2024: mounts in the morning, modules in the afternoon, the tilt checked with an inclinometer, and the solar breaker in the service panel after dark.
At a glance
- System
- 7.6 kW DC
- Modules
- 19 × Hyundai HiS-S400YH(BK), 400 W
- Microinverters
- Enphase IQ8M-72-M-US, one per module
- Roof
- Composition shingle, hip
- Solar breaker
- 40 A two-pole, labeled SOLAR
- Installed
- 6 December 2024, in one day
The story
A hip roof slopes on every side, so there is no single big face to fill. Here the nineteen modules went on in small groups across several faces: a block of four on one, a row on another, single modules and pairs where the smaller faces had room. Each group needs its own mounts and its own wiring back to the rest of the array.
The day started at about nine in the morning with the mounts, each on a flashing slid under the shingle course above. By early afternoon the rails and the Enphase IQ8M microinverters were in place, and by a quarter past four the modules were on: Hyundai HiS-S400YH(BK) panels rated 400 W, nineteen of them, 7.6 kW DC.
With the modules on, the crew set an inclinometer on them to read the tilt. On a flush-mounted array the reading is the pitch of that roof face, and on a hip roof with groups on different faces it is worth taking on each one. More on how tilt and direction affect output is in how much energy a solar panel produces.
The combiner went on the wall at about half past five, and the panel work followed after dark. In the Eaton service panel the solar breaker, a 40-amp two-pole, went in at the bottom of the bus, with SOLAR written beside it. The last of the work was done by about twenty to seven that evening.
How it ran
| 6 December 2024, about 9 am | Mounts and flashings |
|---|---|
| Early afternoon | Rails and microinverters |
| About 4:15 pm | Nineteen modules on; tilt checked |
| About 5:30 pm | Combiner on the wall |
| 6–6:40 pm | Solar breaker and panel work, after dark |
From the first mount to the panel in one day.
What we did
- Laid the array out in small groups across the faces of the hip roof.
- Set every mount on a flashing under the shingle course above.
- Installed nineteen modules with a microinverter under each.
- Checked the tilt of the finished modules with an inclinometer.
- Mounted the combiner and installed the solar breaker the same day.
System specifications
| Modules | 19 × Hyundai HiS-S400YH(BK), 400 W |
|---|---|
| System size | 7.6 kW DC |
| Microinverters | Enphase IQ8M-72-M-US, one per module |
| Layout | Small groups across several faces of a hip roof |
| Mounting | Flashed mounts under the shingle courses |
| Solar breaker | 40 A two-pole in an Eaton service panel |
| Utility / AHJ | LADWP / LADBS |
Is your project like this one?
- You have a hip roof with no single large face.
- You are planning a system of seven to eight kilowatts.
- You want the installation finished in one day.
- You want a microinverter under every module.
Cali Energy in Mission Hills
Mission Hills is a neighborhood inside the City of Los Angeles: permits run through LADBS, interconnection through LADWP.
Mission Hills is inside the City of Los Angeles, with permits through LADBS and the grid through LADWP. Many of its houses have hip roofs, where every face slopes and no single face is large.
- License and classifications: CSLB #1032379
- Official reference for this process: Enphase — installer documentation
- Official reference for this process: LADBS — plan review and permitting
Frequently asked questions
How was the array laid out on this Mission Hills hip roof?
In small groups across several faces, because a hip roof has no single large face. There is a block of four on one face, a row on another, and single modules and pairs where the smaller faces had room, nineteen modules in all.
Was this Mission Hills system really installed in one day?
Yes. On 6 December 2024 the mounts went in from about nine in the morning, the rails and microinverters by early afternoon and the modules by about a quarter past four. The combiner followed at about half past five, and the solar breaker went into the panel after dark.
What equipment is in this Mission Hills system?
Nineteen Hyundai HiS-S400YH(BK) modules rated 400 W, 7.6 kW DC, each with an Enphase IQ8M-72-M-US microinverter under it. The modules sit on flashed mounts in the shingles, and the solar breaker is a 40-amp two-pole at the bottom of the bus in the Eaton service panel.
Does Cali Energy install solar on hip roofs in Mission Hills?
Yes. On this Mission Hills house Cali Energy split the array into small groups across the faces of a hip roof, flashed every mount into the shingles and checked the tilt on the finished modules. Permits here run through LADBS and interconnection through LADWP. License CSLB #1032379.
What this would look like on your roof
Planning solar in Mission Hills? Tell us your utility, your roof and what your bill looks like now, and we will model what a system like this would do on your house 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
Updated October 2026.