Winnetka, CA · May – June 2022 · LADWP / LADBS
Build the service for the battery you have not bought yet.
A new roof, a new 225 amp main service panel and an array on top of it — laid out so that consumption metering and a battery could be added later without opening the service again. Installed on a Tuesday, final inspection passed ten days later.
A battery added to an existing solar system means going back into the service: current transformers, breakers, sometimes a new panel. It also means its own permit and its own interconnection, whenever it happens. What planning ahead changes is how much physical rework comes with them.
At a glance
- Service
- 225 A main panel
- Roof
- New — 21 squares, composition shingle
- Design allowance
- Consumption CTs and a future battery
- Install to final
- Ten days
- Combiner
- AC combiner at the service
- Battery
- Not installed — provided for
- Utility / AHJ
- LADWP / LADBS
The story
The roof came first: twenty-one squares of composition shingle over the existing sheathing, permitted in May 2022 and finished before any solar work started. By the time the array was scheduled the house had a roof with its full service life ahead of it.
The electrical side is where this project is worth reading. The house needed a new main service panel, and the specification that came with it was not just an amperage. It was a list of things that were not being installed yet: consumption current transformers, so the system could measure what the house actually uses rather than only what the roof makes, and headroom for a battery that nobody had bought.
That is a design decision with a short window. While the panel is open and the feeders are out of the wall, leaving room for current transformers and a battery circuit is a matter of layout. Once the cover is back on it becomes a second day of labour on top of the permitting that a battery needs in any case.
The array went up on the seventh of June, with the roof circuits landed in an AC combiner beside the service.
Inspections were requested on the tenth of June, the final was scheduled for the sixteenth, and it passed on the seventeenth. Ten days from the modules going on to a signed final.
The battery still is not there. When it arrives it will need its own permit and its own interconnection with the utility, and depending on where it goes and how it is configured it may need a fire department review as well. None of that is avoided by planning ahead. What is avoided is opening the service a second time to make room for equipment that could have been allowed for while it was already open.
How it ran
| May 2022 | Roofing permit — 21 squares of composition shingle |
|---|---|
| 3 June 2022 | Install date set; service specification fixed with provision for consumption CTs and a future battery |
| 6 June 2022 | Material delivered |
| 7 June 2022 | Array installed |
| 10 June 2022 | Inspections requested |
| 16 June 2022 | Final inspection scheduled |
| 17 June 2022 | Final inspection passed |
The roof was finished first; the electrical design allowed for equipment that was not part of this contract.
What we did
- Replaced the roof before the array went on it.
- Installed a new 225 amp main service panel.
- Built provision for consumption current transformers into the service while it was open.
- Left the electrical layout able to take a battery without a second rebuild.
- Landed the roof circuits in an AC combiner beside the service.
- Took the installation from modules on the roof to a passed final inspection in ten days.
System specifications
| Service | New 225 A main service panel |
|---|---|
| Roof | New, 21 squares of composition shingle over existing sheathing |
| Provision made for | Consumption current transformers; future battery |
| Combiner | AC combiner box at the service |
| Battery | Not installed — service built to accept one |
| Permits | Roofing permit; solar and electrical |
| Utility / AHJ | LADWP / LADBS |
Is your project like this one?
- You want solar now and are not sure about a battery yet.
- Your panel has to be replaced and you only want to do that once.
- You have been quoted for solar with no mention of what the service can take.
- You are replacing a roof and wondering whether to do the solar at the same time.
- Your Winnetka property is served by LADWP, while permits are handled by LADBS.
Cali Energy in Winnetka
Winnetka is inside City of Los Angeles boundaries: permits run through LADBS, interconnection through LADWP.
Older houses here are on services that were sized for a different decade, so the panel is usually part of the job whether the owner expected it or not.
This installation is on the Winnetka projects page alongside the others, and what the work covers is set out on the Winnetka service area page.
- License and classifications: CSLB #1032379
- Official reference for this process: LADWP Electric Service Requirements
- Official reference for this process: LADBS — plan review and permitting
Frequently asked questions
Can I add a battery to my solar later?
Yes. It will need its own permit, its own inspection and its own interconnection with the utility whenever it happens, and some configurations also need a fire department review — planning ahead does not remove any of that. What it changes is the physical work: on this house the service was laid out to take the equipment, so the later job does not start by rebuilding the panel.
What are consumption CTs and why do they matter?
Current transformers clamped on the service feeders let the monitoring see what the house consumes, not just what the array produces. Without them you know your generation and nothing else. They are simple to fit while the panel is open and awkward afterwards, which is why they were specified up front here.
Why replace the roof before the solar?
Because taking an array off and putting it back is a separate job with its own cost. This roof was replaced first — twenty-one squares of composition shingle over the existing sheathing — and the array went onto a roof with its full life ahead of it.
How long did the installation take?
The array went up on the seventh of June 2022, inspections were requested on the tenth, and the final was passed on the seventeenth. Ten days from installation to a signed final inspection.
Does Cali Energy do the roof, the panel and the solar in Winnetka?
Yes, and all three were involved here. Cali Energy holds B, C-10 and C-39 classifications under CSLB #1032379. Winnetka is inside City of Los Angeles boundaries, so permits run through LADBS and interconnection through LADWP.
What this would look like on your roof
Every number on this page came off a real job in Winnetka, 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.