This guide explains how to quickly locate the key information you need within a solar and battery storage system planset to complete a Symbium application. It walks through the typical drawings and documents included in the planset and highlights where required details can be found.
Who this guide is for
Symbium is built for everyone – owner-builders, permit coordinators, and experienced installers alike. If you are newer to the permitting process, this guide is written with you in mind. It is part of our mission to make permitting accessible to everyone, not just the experts. Experienced installers will likely breeze through it – but we hope there is something useful here for everyone.
We will walk through your planset sheet by sheet and show you exactly where to find the information Symbium needs.
Have your planset open as you read. This guide is meant to be used alongside it.
Cover Sheet
The cover sheet is the front page of your planset and contains more useful information than most people realize. Before you enter anything in Symbium, it is worth spending a few minutes here.
Verify your address
Make sure the address on your planset matches the address in your Symbium project exactly. It sounds obvious, but mismatched addresses are more common than you would think – do not let a typo dim your approval. If your planset says "123 Main St" and Symbium has "456 Main Blvd," flag it before you submit.
Verify your city or county
Your cover sheet should list the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) – the city or county responsible for issuing your permit. Always confirm this matches where you are applying in Symbium. Applying under the wrong jurisdiction is an easy mistake to make, especially for properties near city boundaries.
Check the governing codes
The cover sheet lists the building, electrical, and energy codes your design is based on. Make sure these are current and match what your jurisdiction requires. Incorrect or outdated code references can hold up your approval.
Scope of work
The scope of work section summarizes what is being installed or changed. Make sure it matches your Symbium project scope – what is listed here should line up with the equipment and work you are entering in the application.
Contractor license
Check that the contractor name and license number on the cover sheet match what you will enter in the Symbium workflow. A mismatch here can cause issues at review.
Design conditions
The cover sheet often lists key site conditions used in the design, things like ambient temperature, ground snow load, design wind speed, and seismic design category. Symbium pre-fills most of these automatically from authoritative sources, so you usually will not need to enter them yourself.
If a value is not available from an authoritative source, Symbium will leave the field open for you to fill in. In that case, your cover sheet is the first place to look. Note that some values appear elsewhere too. Ambient temperature sometimes appears in the line diagram, since it directly affects wire sizing calculations. Wind speed and snow load details may appear in the roof plan, since these directly affect structural calculations such as anchor spacing.
WUI fire area
Whether your property is in a Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) fire area is typically noted on the cover sheet. Symbium pre-fills this where the information is reliably available. If it is not pre-filled, check your cover sheet.
PE stamp
If your property is in a high wind or high snow load area, your planset may require a PE (Professional Engineer) stamp. Check your cover sheet for this – the stamp may also appear on a separate structural calculations document or on calculations included within the planset. Some jurisdictions will not accept unstamped plans in these conditions.
Line Diagram (Single-Line or Three-Line Diagram)
The line diagram is your most important sheet. It shows how current flows through your system, from the solar panels and batteries, through the inverters, to your electrical panel and the grid. If you can read this sheet, you can answer most of Symbium's technical questions.
Service panel – bus and breaker ratings
Your main service panel's bus rating (e.g., 200A) and main breaker rating (e.g., 200A) are shown in the line diagram. Look for a box or symbol representing your main panel. These values are usually labeled directly on or next to it.
Panel upgrade
If you are upgrading your service panel as part of this project, you will see a new panel indicated with (N). For example, (N) Main Service Panel or (N) Main Breaker. If you only see (E) (existing), no upgrade is being performed. The scope of work on the cover sheet will also confirm this.
Main breaker derate
Whether your main breaker is derated is typically noted in the line diagram or the cover sheet scope of work. Look for any notation indicating the breaker is rated below the panel's full bus capacity.
Sub-panels
In your line diagram, sub-panels appear as rectangular boxes with breakers shown inside or branching off them – think of them as secondary distribution points downstream from your main service panel.
Some designs move all household loads into a sub-panel as part of the solar interconnection strategy. You may hear this called a Hawaiian tie-in, a method where all loads are relocated to a new sub-panel, freeing up the main panel for the solar interconnection. It tripped us up the first time we encountered it too – and yes, that is a breaker joke!
If your line diagram shows a sub-panel, make sure you account for it in your Symbium project.
Inverters – how many and what type
Start by counting the inverters in your line diagram. Remember: batteries often come with their own inverter built in, so count those too.
Not sure if your battery has an integrated inverter? Look at the line diagram. If your battery is shown connected directly to the AC side of the system without a separate inverter symbol next to it, the inverter is integrated. If the PV modules are also connected through that same battery unit, it is a hybrid inverter, meaning it manages both solar input and battery storage.
This matters for interconnection calculations. Symbium needs to account for the output of all inverters – existing and new – to verify your system meets the requirements.
Load side vs. supply side connection
Look at where your inverter connects to your electrical system in the line diagram:
- If it connects on the load side of the service disconnect, i.e., after the main breaker – this is a load side interconnection.
- If it connects on the utility side of the service disconnect, i.e., before the main breaker – this is a supply side interconnection.
- If your service panel has no main circuit breaker serving as the service disconnect, the interconnection must be supply-side.
Using a Power Control System (PCS) or Energy Management System (EMS)? Symbium will still ask you whether your connection is load side or supply side. This is because a PCS or EMS does not change where the system physically interconnects – Symbium still needs to know the interconnection point to run the correct interconnection calculation. The right rule will be applied automatically.
Load side interconnection method
For load side connections, Symbium will ask which compliance rule you are using. For example, the 120% rule or the sum of breakers rule. You can usually confirm which method applies by checking the line diagram, where the interconnection method is often labeled. If not, check the labels and placards section of your planset. Though be warned, some plansets list every placard under the sun (pun intended) regardless of applicability.
Supply side interconnection method
For supply side connections, Symbium will ask how the interconnection is made. Common options include a GMA (a type of meter collar) or a solar-ready panel with a dedicated breaker space for solar output.
Note that many jurisdictions restrict which supply side connection types they accept for instant approval workflows. If yours is not accepted, Symbium will let you know.
Microinverters
If your system uses microinverters, the DC side of the line diagram will show branch circuits, each with a number of microinverters and modules. Often each module has one microinverter, though some models serve more than one module.
String inverters and optimizers
For string inverters, your line diagram will show strings of modules connected to the inverter. Symbium asks for the maximum number of modules per string to simplify data entry – use the highest module count across all strings.
Some string inverter systems also use power optimizers attached to individual PV modules. Like microinverters, optimizers are connected per module. But unlike microinverters, they still rely on the string inverter to convert DC to AC.
Battery details
The line diagram will show your battery units, labeled (E) for existing or (N) for new. Note the energy rating (kWh) for each unit and the number of units. These are the values Symbium will ask for in the ESS section.
Wire sizing
The line diagram often includes a Conductor and Conduit Schedule – a table listing the wire and conduit specs for your system. It is one of the most useful places to look up specific wire sizes.
Roof Plan
The roof plan shows the layout of your solar array on the roof. You will use this sheet for a few specific fields in Symbium.
Weight of the PV system
Symbium asks for the distributed weight of the array – not the weight of a single panel. The total weight of the PV system is typically listed in the roof plan. Look for a weight per square foot or total array weight value.
Number of roof slopes and pitch
The roof plan shows how many distinct roof slopes your array spans and the pitch (slope) of each. You can enter the pitch in rise-over-run format (e.g., 4:12) or in degrees – this is the roof pitch or tilt, not the compass direction the roof faces (that is the azimuth).
Snow load details
Ground snow load values sometimes appear in the roof plan as well as the cover sheet, since snow load directly affects how anchors must be spaced on the roof.
Mounting Detail Sheet
The mounting detail sheet covers how the panels are physically attached to the roof. In some plansets, this information is combined with the roof plan rather than appearing on a separate sheet.
This sheet includes specifics like the distance between the module and the roof surface, flashing type, and the attachment hardware being used. Symbium may ask for some of these details depending on your jurisdiction's requirements.
Bill of Materials (BOM)
If your planset includes a bill of materials, use it as a cross-check. The BOM should list all equipment – modules, inverters, batteries, optimizers – with quantities. If your numbers do not add up here, they will not add up at inspection either.
Elevation Plan
The elevation plan shows the physical layout of your battery storage system. Use it to find:
- Separation between ESS units – required spacing between battery units if multiple are installed, per manufacturer installation instructions and applicable UL9540/9540A tested system requirements
- Location where the batteries are installed on the property. This is sometimes also noted in the scope of work on the cover sheet or shown in the site plan.
A few things to double-check before you submit
The boring stuff at the end is usually what causes the exciting delays. These are the most common planset issues to check before you submit:
- Address. The address in your planset must match the one in your Symbium project. Mismatched plans happen more often than you would expect.
- Governing codes. This must be current and match your jurisdiction's requirements.
- Contractor details. Contractor name and license number must match what is entered in your Symbium workflow.
- Scope of work. This must align with the equipment and work you have scoped in Symbium.
- PE stamp. if you are in a high wind or snow load area, a PE stamp is not optional – think of it as sunscreen for your application. Check whether your jurisdiction requires it before submitting.
With all of this, you can work through your Symbium application section by section and breeze through the compliance checks in a matter of minutes.