Sun Valley, CA · March 2022 · LADWP / LADBS
Nine days from install to a passed final.
A 5.44 kW DC array with a 200-amp service panel upgrade in Sun Valley, on LADWP — permitted without plan check and finaled nine days after the crew came off the roof.
Under the LADBS process used for this project in 2022, a qualifying residential microinverter system received an express permit with no plan check.
At a glance
- DC System
- 5.44 kW
- Modules
- 16 × 340 W
- Inverters
- 16 × Enphase IQ7+
- Service Panel
- Upgraded to 200 A
- Roof
- Composition shingle
- Permit
- Express, no plan check
- Install → final
- 9 days
- Utility / AHJ
- LADWP / LADBS
The story
Permit issued in January without plan check. Installed in March. Final inspection passed nine days after the crew came off the roof.
Two separate things sit behind that calendar. The first is the permit route. Under the process LADBS used for this project in 2022, a roof-mounted microinverter system not exceeding ten kilowatts AC on a one- or two-family dwelling could be issued an express permit with no plan check at all. No drawings queued for review, no corrections, no waiting on an engineer. That is what put a permit in hand in January.
The second is what happened after the array was finished, and it is not the same thing. Plan check sits before installation, so skipping it does not shorten the gap between coming off the roof and passing the final. That gap — nine days here — is inspection scheduling, and it is worth reading as a separate number.
The array is sixteen Q.CELLS 340-watt modules on sixteen Enphase microinverters, and the service panel was upgraded to 200 amps as part of the same job. It sits on composition shingle over 2×4 rafters, covering 310 square feet — well under half the roof.
The only friction was paperwork format. The party handling the file expected a separate signed job card. On this permit the inspector signed the permit itself, and that signed page was the record of the passed final. It took a couple of emails to establish what to file.
Worth saying plainly: LADBS changes its criteria, and which route a project takes depends on its configuration. This describes what happened on this project in 2022, not a rule you can count on today.
How it ran
| 21 January 2022 | Express solar permit issued, no plan check |
|---|---|
| 14 March 2022 | Installed |
| 23 March 2022 | Final inspection passed |
Nine days run from installation to the passed final inspection. The permit had been issued in January without plan check; because plan check sits before installation, the two are separate facts rather than cause and effect.
What we did
- Installed sixteen modules on composition shingle over 2×4 rafters.
- Upgraded the main service panel to 200 amps as part of the same job (C-10 scope).
- Carried the inspection and passed the final nine days after installation.
- Established what the signed record of the final actually was and supplied it.
System specifications
| DC system | 5.44 kW |
|---|---|
| Modules | 16 × Q.CELLS Q.PEAK DUO BLK-G6+, 340 W |
| Inverters | 16 × Enphase IQ7PLUS-72-2-US |
| Service panel | Upgraded to 200 A |
| Racking | IronRidge XR10 on flashed feet |
| Roof | Composition shingle, rafters 2×4 at 24 in on center |
| Array load | 2.9 lb per sq ft over 310 sq ft |
| Permit route | Express permit, no plan check, issued January 2022 |
| Battery | None |
| Utility / AHJ | LADWP / LADBS |
Is your project like this one?
- Your system is small enough that plan check may not apply.
- You have been quoted a two-month permitting timeline for a modest array.
- Your panel needs upgrading at the same time as the solar goes on.
- Somebody is asking you for a job card and your inspector signed the permit.
- You are on LADWP.
Cali Energy in Sun Valley
Sun Valley sits inside City of Los Angeles boundaries, so every project here is permitted through LADBS and interconnected through LADWP. Our work in this ZIP code runs from single-row arrays on new accessory dwelling units to a 13 kW system on a replaced service panel, on composition shingle and on low-slope rolled composition.
Two projects on the same street went through two different permit routes in the same months, and the calendars were not close.
This installation is on the Sun Valley projects page alongside the others, and what the work covers is set out on the Sun Valley service area page.
- License and classifications: CSLB #1032379
- Official reference for this process: LADBS Information Bulletin — solar photovoltaic permits
Frequently asked questions
Can a residential solar permit be issued without plan check?
Under the LADBS process used for this project in 2022, a roof-mounted microinverter system not exceeding ten kilowatts AC on a one- or two-family dwelling was issued an express permit with no plan check. Criteria change and routes depend on configuration, so treat this as what happened on this project rather than a current rule.
How fast can a small solar project be finished?
On this one the final inspection passed nine days after installation. That gap is inspection scheduling. It is separate from the permit route, because plan check happens before installation rather than after it — this project skipped plan check, which is why a permit was in hand in January, but that is a different part of the calendar.
What counts as proof that a final inspection passed?
On this permit the inspector signed the permit itself, and that signed page was the record. Some processes expect a separate job card instead. It is worth establishing which applies before somebody is waiting on a document that was never issued.
Does Cali Energy do panel upgrades alongside solar in Sun Valley?
Yes. Sun Valley is inside City of Los Angeles boundaries, so permits run through LADBS and interconnection through LADWP. Cali Energy coordinates service panel upgrades alongside solar projects; this installation included an upgrade to 200 amps.
What this would look like on your roof
Every number on this page came off a real job in Sun Valley, 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.