San Fernando, CA · April 2025 · Southern California Edison / City of San Fernando
Eight modules on one roof face, and everything else on the wall
A small system on a shingle roof: eight modules on one face, a microinverter under each, and the combiner and disconnect on the stucco below. It went up between morning and late afternoon.
This San Fernando installation is eight modules on a single shingle roof face, each with an Enphase IQ8MC microinverter, completed by Cali Energy in one working day on 22 April 2025. The mounts are flashed L-feet woven into the shingle courses, a single conduit run carries the circuit across the roof to the wall, and an Enphase combiner beside the service equipment collects the array. Small arrays get the same mounts, flashing and equipment as large ones.
At a glance
- Array
- 8 modules, one roof face
- Microinverters
- Enphase IQ8MC, one per module
- Roof
- Composition shingle
- Mounts
- Flashed L-feet in the shingle courses
- On the wall
- Enphase combiner and AC disconnect
- Installed
- 22 April 2025, in one day
The story
Not every array needs the whole roof. This one is eight modules on a single face of the house's composition shingle roof. With a microinverter under each module there is no central inverter to find a place for, and the array's output is already household AC by the time it leaves the roof.
The work started on the roof at about ten in the morning. Each mount is an L-foot on a flashing plate, and the flashing goes under the shingle course above it, so water running down the roof passes over the plate rather than into the bolt hole.
Rails went onto the mounts next, and the microinverters onto the rails, one where each module would sit. They are bolted and wired before the modules go on, because once the modules are down the microinverters are underneath them and hard to reach.
With the modules on, one conduit carries the circuit down the roof and onto the wall. Everything that needs to be reached from the ground lives there: the Enphase combiner that collects the array, and an AC disconnect next to the existing meter and panel.
The work was finished by about four in the afternoon. Eight modules is a small system, but the parts list is the same as on a large one: flashing at every mount, the same combiner, the same disconnect, the same labeling. What changes with size is mostly the time on the roof.
How it ran
| 22 April 2025, morning | Mounts flashed into the shingle courses |
|---|---|
| Midday | Rails and microinverters set, one per module position |
| Afternoon | Modules on; conduit run to the wall; combiner and disconnect mounted |
| About 4 pm | Array complete |
One roof face, one working day.
What we did
- Flashed every mount into the shingle courses.
- Set rails and mounted a microinverter at each module position before the modules went on.
- Installed the eight modules on the one roof face.
- Ran a single conduit from the array across the roof and down the wall.
- Mounted the Enphase combiner and an AC disconnect beside the service equipment.
System specifications
| Modules | 8, one roof face |
|---|---|
| Microinverters | Enphase IQ8MC, one per module |
| Mounting | Flashed L-feet on rails, composition shingle |
| Combiner | Enphase, on the wall |
| Disconnect | AC disconnect next to the service equipment |
| Utility / AHJ | Southern California Edison / City of San Fernando |
Is your project like this one?
- You have one roof face with room for a small array.
- You want a small system and wonder if it is worth it.
- You have composition shingle and want to know how the mounts are sealed.
- You would rather not have a central inverter on the wall.
Cali Energy in San Fernando
San Fernando is its own city, not a Los Angeles neighborhood: permits run through the City of San Fernando Building and Safety Division, interconnection through Southern California Edison.
San Fernando is an independent incorporated city in Los Angeles County, surrounded by the City of Los Angeles, with its own Building and Safety Division and Southern California Edison on the poles.
- License and classifications: CSLB #1032379
- Official reference for this process: City of San Fernando — Building and Safety Division
- Official reference for this process: Enphase — installer documentation
Frequently asked questions
Is an eight-module system worth installing?
It can be, if it is sized to the house. A small array on the best roof face with a microinverter under each module produces from every panel independently, and nothing about the installation is cut down: the mounts are flashed, the combiner and disconnect are the same as on a large system. What a small system saves is roof time, not quality.
How are solar mounts sealed on a shingle roof?
Each mount sits on a metal flashing plate, and the plate is slid under the shingle course above it. Water running down the roof flows over the flashing and past the bolt instead of into it. That layering, rather than sealant alone, is what keeps a shingle roof dry around a mount for the life of the array.
Why are the microinverters installed before the modules?
Because afterwards they are under the modules. Each microinverter is bolted to the rail where its module will sit and wired into the trunk cable first, so every connection can be checked while it is still in reach. Fixing a microinverter after the modules are down means lifting a module off.
Does Cali Energy install small solar systems in San Fernando?
Yes. San Fernando is its own city, with permits through the City of San Fernando Building and Safety Division and interconnection through Southern California Edison. Cali Energy installs small systems here as well as larger ones: recent projects in the city run from eight modules on one roof face to 22 modules on four roof sections with a battery. License CSLB #1032379.
What this would look like on your roof
Planning solar in San Fernando? 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
This timeline reflects this property and this permitting path. Updated October 2026.