Yes - you're right. When you pull off the grid, you first use up your credits. Then you either buy additional power from the electric company. Or, if you generate more power than you use, you get paid for the excess by the electric company. I'd have to check my notes - I think it may be annually. If you think about it - the days are longer in summer, so you will generate more power. Days are shorter in winter, you generate less power. So you most likely will pull more power off the grid in winter, pull less power in summer. So things would even out over a year. The SRECs are completely different. And I still don't have my head completely wrapped around them. They are Solar Renewable Energy Credits. The utility companies are required by law to generate a certain portion of their electricity by solar. They buy these SRECs to comply with this requirement. If they don't have enough SRECs they are fined. From srectrade.com In SREC states, the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requires electricity suppliers to secure a portion of their electricity from solar generators. The SREC program provides a means for Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) to be created for every megawatt-hour of solar electricity created. 1 SREC = 1,000 kWh of solar electricity = 1 MWh of solar electricity 10 kW solar capacity = ~12 SRECs per year The SREC is sold separately from the electricity and represents the "solar" aspect of the electricity that was produced. The value of an SREC is determined by the market subject to supply and demand constraints. SRECs can be sold to electricity suppliers needing to meet their solar RPS requirement. The market is typically capped by a fine or solar alternative compliance payment (SACP) paid by any electricity suppliers for every SREC they fall short of the requirement. The sale of SRECs is intended to promote the growth of distributed solar by shortening the time it takes to earn a return on the investment. Once the installation of a solar system is complete, the system must then be certified by the state(s) in which it is eligible to sell SRECs and then must create an account with the tracking platform used by that state. Once registered, every month, the tracking platform will issue SRECs based on the generation of your system. In some states, estimated generation is used for systems under 10kW, while all other systems are required to submit generation on a monthly basis. One SREC is created for every 1000kWh of electricity created. For example, a 10kW system can generate approximately 1 SREC per month. However, it is up to the solar installation owner to decide how to manage the SRECs that are produced. Some states will certify solar electric systems from out-of-state and allow the SRECs from those facilities to count towards the RPS. The map above shows what state individuals can sell their SRECs into. Here is a link that might be useful: srec trade dot com

"Does anyone have an opinion on solar panels on racks below the pool vs one story up on a porch roof?" You state that you only have 300 sq. ft. of available space on the roof for mounting solar panels. You have 640 sq. ft. of pool surface area. So, you would have less than 50% of the pool surface vs. solar panel area if you roof mount the panels. I don't recommend less than 80% of solar vs. pool surface area for solar. Anything less than that will probably be disappointing to you with respect to performance. The advantage of a rack mount for your panels is that you can use as many panels as you want. And, you don't have to make roof penetrations that could cause problems. A 2 hp pump should be more than adequate to run your solar system unless the horizontal run is very long. Just make sure that you do your homework before attempting to install the solar panels yourself. You must keep your head pressure within tolerances; otherwise you can damage your filter.

"If you know what the exact issue your HI found is then post it here. Many of us have libraries of NEC editions going back many revisions, and other just remember when the changes occurred. Someone can tell you when the NEC changed, and if the actual 'finding' is anything to be concerned about." Brickeyee, this is what the HI put on the inspection report: ELECTRICAL: Get second opinion from electrician or check internet sites for older STAB-LOK Federal Pacific breaker panels. PANEL OR PANELS double lugging / melted insulation / missing plugs / sloppy wiring / rusted or rusting / did not open due to obstruction panel painted or sealed shut / should label all circuits /over fused or should decrees fuse or breaker size FORMCHECKBOX neutral and ground bonded in sub panel GROUNDING consider adding ground rod for additional safety and for double grounding or improving the grounding system FORMCHECKBOX ground missing at water meter or pressure reducer / loose ground wire / ground wire to small Today's standards suggest double ground to the main panel. The first ground wire should be connected to the metallic cold water pipe with a ground jumper or bond cable at the water meter The second ground wire should go to a ground rod imbedded in soil. Have electrician verify and certify all grounding conductors. Electrical not determined or evaluated in: walls, drop ceilings, closed panels, concrete, soil, behind outlet or switch plates. OUTLETS AND SWITCHES consider installing GFCI'S / open grounds / reverse polarity's / loose / painted / missing cover OTHER VISUAL CONDITIONS improper splicing / wire not in conduit or through joists / some sloppy installation dangerous or exposed wire / some lights out or not working light bulbs or damaged / some abandoned or unknown / some not energized / extension cords used / loose conduit / dangling or exposed wires / sloppy above drop ceiling Triple or double lugging exists in panels Undersized wire used for double/triple lugging" I googled "STAB-LOK Federal Pacific breaker panels" and was NOT glad to read the following: FIRES WAITING TO HAPPEN - Federal Pacific Electric Panels: Fires Waiting to Happen, Debate Waiting to Be Ended What is the FPE Stab-Lok Failure Rate and How Much Worse Is It Than Other Equipment? FPE Stab-Lok or Federal Pacific Electric Stab-lok circuit breakers can fail to trip at an alarming rate. In the original testing, at a modest overload (135% of rating) switches that had never been touched (never mechanically switched) were energized on both poles. These failed 25% of the time, followed by a lockup that meant the switch would never trip in the future at any overload. Once these switches had been flipped on and off (mechanically energized), failures increased to 36%! Worse, when individual poles on these switches were energized under the same conditions, 51% of the "virgin" switches failed, and for switches that had been mechanically energized, a whopping 65% of them failed!" A link that might be useful: inspectapedia.com/fpe/fpe.htm

This and my basement are my next projects. I recently had my roof replaced and I wonder what happens if there is a leak after solar installation, would the solar company eat it or the roofing company? How are you protecting the panels from squirrel or bird nesting? Is your attic now hotter or cooler with panels on top? Is the big inverter better than the micro inverters, was there a cost difference on your package for the big inverter? Are you expected to clean the panels yearly or is the company offering that service? Did that company have a battery bank system what was the cost difference?