All Forum Posts by: Justin F.

Thanks Dan. We considered building slightly under 750 sq ft (2bd/2ba) to avoid school fees ($4K), park development fees ($5,775). Including sewer capacity fees, that's $23,275. Since our parents would be moving into it first, we decided to build as large as we could (992 sq ft 2bd/2ba + office ADU). Once they move out, hopefully the additional space (possibly convert the office into a small bedroom making it a 3bd/2ba) allowing us to charge slightly higher rent vs. a 750 sq ft unit recouping the impact fees in a few years. I was just surprised how much the fees were and was curious if other cities were this high as well.

May I ask what your impact fees were? Castro Valley Sanitation (East Bay) said sewer capacity fees will be $13.5K for building a detached 2bd/2ba ADU! Is that comparable to other cities or is that exorbitantly high. They charge $715 per PFU (Plumbing Fixture Units) and mine came out to 19 PFUs (bathrooms,sinks, kitchen, washer, etc...). Unfortunately, there's no way around this since it's a city fee.

@Account Closed

Thanks for your insight. Are you saying with grid tied solar, adding solar and battery backup won't help with lowering the chances of the ADU tripping circuit breakers? Based on Tesla Powerall video, it looks like the Powerwalls can power the house even when the grid isn't down. When power requirements exceed what the solar panels produce, it pulls fromthe grid but if the solar panels produce excess, it powers the house and charges the batteries and then at night the house gets powered by the batteries. https://www.tesla.com/support/...

I can also look into energy efficient appliances that draw less amps. 

What would you recommend in my situation?  If upgrading from 100A to 200A was cost prohibitive.

@Account Closed

Does the 2nd meter belong to PG&E or was it a 3rd party meter you purchased to measure ADU's usage? Do you still get one PG&E bill? From what I understood if the ADU has it's own meter (billed separately by PG&E), you'd have to be connected directly to PG&E lines (via separate powerlines).

Do you have a link to the 200A panel/meter you purchased?  What was the cost for installation?  Could you PM your electrician to me?  

PG&E said if I upgraded from 100A to 200A, I'd have to relocate my electrical panel to be 3ft from the gas lines.  Since I'm not upgrading the powerline and simply installing a 200A electrical panel, I'm assuming this wouldn't be an issue.  Did you have to file an application with PG&E for them to inspect/approve the installation?  If so, which PG&E application was it?  Also, did you have to get a permit from the city?

Does the tenant's rent include electricity or do you bill them based on their usage?

Thanks!

@Rajat, thanks for your input. $36K is ridiculous. Sounds like you didn't move forward with the trenching. Was your ADU an attached or detached? If detached, did they install a 100A subpanel there? Did you have any problems getting approval from the city without upgrading to 200A?

I'll look for the template load calculator.  I know they sell appliances that are very efficient and draw less power so they can help with keeping loads to an acceptable level.

With respects to who pays for the street trenching, I'm getting mixed responses.  PG&E says I'm responsible but I spoke with a couple of contractors that said PG&E was responsible.  One of them said he did a job in Fremont and Union City and the homeowner only had to pay for the trenching on their own property.  I don't know if PG&E sent them a separate bill afterwards?

In any case, it probably make more sense to build the ADU first. If we run into a situation where the circuit breaker is constantly tripping then I can revisit upgrading the electrical panels.

Thanks for everyone's replies. As Alan mentioned above, PG&E wants $1,500 to estimate the job.  If I decide not to use them, I lose the $1,500.  They said it could range between $7,500 to $20K!  It all depends on how far they need to trench. 

The funny thing (not really) is they couldn't find the PG&E vault box that feeds my house.  Their map says it's across the street but they couldn't visually verify it so they couldn't 100% tell me if the wires were direct buried or whether a conduit was used.  Based on their inspection of my neighbors vault box and given the homes were built in the 70's they said  the powerlines look to be direct buried.  I'm not exactly sure that's true since a different electrician thought he saw a 1 1/2" to 2" conduit leading into my electrical panel. Could a powerline go from being direct buried in the street into a conduit at the homeowners property or does a direct buried powerline stay direct buried through the homeowners property up through the electrical panel?  In any case PG&E said it needs to be 3" anyways so trenching would be required.

I called 811 in hopes they would identify the powerlines leading up to the vault box but they said they'll only check the area you have marked off for digging.  The problem is that I don't know where the existing lines are for my neighbors (neighbors don't know either).  It's difficult to get bids from contractors if they don't know how much they need to trench and PG&E wants $1,500 to start the process.

The whole purpose of wanting to upgrade my electrical panel is because I'm looking to build a detached ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) and all the contractors are telling me I need to upgrade my electrical panel (even though the county told me there wasn't a requirement to upgrade, only that it needed to be connected to the main house). I understand upgrading the electrical panel will help with the additional loads the ADU will require. Given the cost of trenching, I was hoping an alternative solution to upgrading my electrical panels was to power the ADU off solar panels and battery backups (even though ADU will still be connected to main house).

Tesla 4kw solar system and 3 Powerwalls are going to cost $24K after tax incentives. Not cheap but I would rather invest the money into a solar array system vs. paying the same amount for trenching. Do you think this is a viable solution? I'm not an electrician so I'm not sure if this setup would work if ADU is connected to main house. I know typically battery backup is used when the grid goes out but not sure if I'm able to pull from battery to avoid tripping any circuit breakers in the main house. ADU would have it's own breaker but I don't know what happens if ADU and main house pulls too much juice at the same time (which circuit breaker trips?). It's the circuit breaker tied to the appliance that pushed loads over 100A right?

I guess there's no way to know for sure unless I pay PG&E $1,500 ugh! If it turns out it's $10K, maybe it makes sense to trench but I'm still needing to power the ADU which requires solar panels to be installed anyways.

Hi,

I've got underground powerlines and the PG&E vault box is across the street on my neighbors property.  PG&E said if I wanted to upgrade my existing 100A electrical panel to 200A, I'd have to trench from my electrical box to the vault box across the street and replace the lines in addition to the replacing the conduit to 3" wide conduits.

Based on my conversations with PG&E, it sounds like I need to pay for the entire cost but should PG&E be responsible for paying for the trenching on the public street?  I understand I'd have to pay for the trenching on my property (and I'm assuming my neighbors property) but I wasn't sure about the street.

Thanks for your input.
 

@Tanya, not sure how much electricity the ADU will be using. The main house is about 1,720 sq ft. Last 3 months I averaged about 405 kwh/mth. For the most part, the solar on the main house covers that usage (12 LG350 panels). The difference is main house has gas range, furnace, and water heater and ADU will be all electrical.

ADU will most likely have 3 mini-split systems for cooling/heating and on-demand hot water heater. Not sure how much power those appliances use. The ADU is half the size of the main house but since it will be all electrical, I'm guessing usage would hover around 300 kwh/mth? Current panels on the main house face SW. ADU solar panels would also face SW. I should be able to fit 12 panels on the ADU's roof. Was looking at the Tesla 4.08 kW solar panels. The solar panels will not be shaded by any trees.

If the main house only has a 100A electrical panel and I add an ADU, is the concern with tripping the circuit breakers if too many appliances are used at once? If I have solar battery backup, am I able to tell the house to use the batteries first before drawing from the grid? I know battery backup typically kicks in if there's no power from the grid but I wonder if it can work the other way around. I'd be willing to add battery backup to the main house as well if it will help with the situation.

I'm trying to avoid having to spend a bunch of money digging up dirt if there are better ways to use that money (i.e. solar).  Another advantage is the 26% tax credit for installing solar and solar battery backups which helps reduce my costs whereas $20k trenching to replace the powerlines is a sunk cost.

Hello!

Hoping to get some advice on powering a detached 860 sq ft 2bd/2ba ADU (accessory dwelling unit) in California.

My primary house has a 100A electrical panel supplied by underground powerline. When I installed solar on the primary house (with no battery backup), I had to replace my existing electrical panels (main and sub-panel) because they were outdated. I wanted to upgrade the electrical panel to 200A but PG&E said I had to trench to upgrade the power lines to handle the additional power. They also said I had to move the existing electrical panel 36 inches away from the gas meter if I wanted to upgrade to 200A or higher. Some contractors have mentioned costs of ~$20K to trench. I was also told it'd be pretty expensive to relocate the main electrical panel because they would have to run new lines.

That being said, I called Alameda county and asked if it was a requirement for me to upgrade my 100A electrical panel if I were to build a detached ADU. They said there wasn't a requirement but the only requirement was the ADU had to be connected to the main house. I believe the other option if for the ADU to have it's own power but that would actually involve more trenching since the ADU is in the backyard so that's also cost prohibitive.

I doubt a 100A panel will be sufficient to power the main house and an ADU. ADU design/build firms and ADU contractors all mention I need to upgrade the main electrical panel to 200A to power the ADU.

My question is...rather than spending $20K on upgrading the main electrical panel to 200A, can I spend that money to install solar panels on the ADU (which I'm required to for detached/non-manufactured home) with battery backup? Essentially making the ADU self-sufficient but still connected to the main house. The ADU would run off the solar batteries and if necessary pull electricity from the main house.

Is this a viable solution?  If so, I'm surprised none of the contractors have mentioned this.

Thanks in advance!

Hi,

Any recommendations for a property management company that's familiar with Rocklin, CA?  

What are the typical fees (flat vs. %) and services provided and what would be complimentary extra services?  

What should I be looking for (i.e. ability for tenants to pay online, online maintenance requests, how soon are rents paid to owners, etc...)?

Thanks!