Solar lamacoids
A solar lamacoid is an engraved two-layer plate that labels a PV system — the disconnects, the inverter, the meter, the rapid-shutdown placard. Solar Labels engraves them for Canadian installs, worded to CEC Section 64 and to your utility, in Burlington, Ontario.
16 on microinverters. Not the four a US kit ships.
Some B.C. inspectors ask for black on white on the BC Hydro disconnect tags.
Manitoba Hydro IB 64-0 and Nova Scotia Power B-64-200.
What makes it a lamacoid
A lamacoid is a laminate: a thin coloured cap bonded over a contrasting core. The engraver cuts through the cap, and the core shows through as the lettering. There is no ink to fade and no printed face to scratch off — the legend is the plate.
That is the difference from a printed solar label or a vinyl decal. Both can be acceptable under the Code, which asks for permanence and legibility rather than a process. A lamacoid is the usual choice on a finished Canadian install, and in Manitoba Hydro territory engraved lamacoids are required outright.
Every Solar Labels plate is set at the largest type that fits, and where a rule sets a minimum letter height the plate grows rather than the legend shrinking. Tell us where each plate goes, how it mounts and what it faces, so the stock and the fixing suit the job.
Solar lamacoid, solar lamicoid, phenolic tag, engraved solar label, legend plate and PV placard all describe it. The large ones are solar placards; the warning-class ones are solar warning labels.
That a lamacoid is CSA approved or guaranteed to pass. Certification attaches to equipment and to the installation as inspected; a plate has no status of its own. What we can do is word it to the published text and cite the rule behind it.
Where the lamacoids go on a solar house
A grid-tied house on a string inverter, base set before the province and utility add theirs — 20 plate types, read from the same catalogue the builder quotes from.
| Plate & rule | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Single-line diagram of the interconnected system 84-030(2) · 64-218(6) · 64-104(5) | Conspicuous location at the supply authority disconnecting means; NSP also requires it inside at the main service panel and any PV sub-panels. |
| Interconnected system warning notice 84-030(1) | At the utility disconnect and the meter location. |
| Photovoltaic power source placard 84-030(1) once reworded to MB24 items 8-9 text; house as currently engraved | At the meter base / service equipment as directed by the utility. |
| Rapid shutdown placard at meter and service equipment 64-218(7) | At the supply authority meter location and the consumer's service equipment location. On buildings without exterior metering the location may need to be agreed with the local fire department. |
| AC disconnect - shock hazard, two sources 64-060(1)(h) · 84-024(1)(i) | All AC disconnects supplied from two sources of power, and every energy storage system disconnecting means (CEC 2024 Rule 64-914). |
| Photovoltaic AC disconnect marking 64-074(1) | Each interconnecting AC power source - AC disconnects for inverters, panelboards, splitters. |
| AC raceway / conduit marker house | On raceways and enclosures carrying the PV AC output circuit. |
| Photovoltaic DC disconnect marking 64-200(1) | String inverters - PV output circuit DC disconnect, at an accessible location. |
| Rapid shutdown at the DC disconnect 64-200(2) | At the disconnecting means for the photovoltaic output circuit. |
| DC raceway / conduit marker house | On raceways, cable trays, enclosures and junction boxes carrying PV DC circuits, at intervals set by the AHJ. |
| DC conductor polarity - positive 64-212(3)-(4) · 64-908(a)(ii) (ESS dc) | On multi-conductor PV cable (e.g. TECK 90) where colour coding is field-applied under 64-212(3), at every point where conductors are exposed. Not for single-conductor RPV/RPVU, which 64-212(2) bars from field marking. |
| DC conductor polarity - negative 64-212(3)-(4) · 64-908(a)(ii) (ESS dc) | On multi-conductor PV cable (e.g. TECK 90) where colour coding is field-applied under 64-212(3), at every point where conductors are exposed. Not for single-conductor RPV/RPVU, which 64-212(2) bars from field marking. |
| DC arc-fault protection house (64-216 requires annunciation, not a label) | At the inverter or combiner providing DC arc-fault protection. |
| Backfed breaker - do not relocate 64-112(4)(c) | At the PV input breaker in the electrical panelboard. |
| Multiple power supplies 14-414(3) · 64-112(4)(d) | Inverters and equipment fed from two sources - one per source disconnect, or one label indicating multiple disconnects must be opened. |
| Do not upsize main breaker house | At the main breaker of a panelboard with a PV interconnection. |
| Inverter identification 2-100 | On or adjacent to the inverter. |
| Array boundary / roof marking house | At the array boundary and roof access points. |
| Firefighter / first-responder placard house | At the main entrance or service entrance, per the fire authority. |
| Emergency shutdown procedure house | At the main service disconnect and the inverter. |
Rule numbers are printed as the source document writes them, and most provincial and utility standards were drafted against the 2021 Code. Nine Section 64 numbers changed in C22.1:24 — the renumbering is here.
Solar lamacoid questions
What is a solar lamacoid?
A solar lamacoid is an engraved two-layer plate used to label a photovoltaic system — its disconnects, inverters, combiners, meter and service. The engraver cuts through a coloured cap into a contrasting core, so the lettering is the material itself rather than ink. On a Canadian solar job the convention is white letters on a red plate.
Is it lamacoid or lamicoid?
Both spellings are used in Canada for the same product, and so are phenolic tag, engraved nameplate and legend plate. Lamacoid is the spelling most Canadian electricians search for.
Does the Canadian Electrical Code require lamacoids on a solar install?
Not by name. Section 64 asks for markings that are permanent and legible, and ESA Bulletin 64-5-4 gives lamacoid, engraved metal plate or equivalent as examples of acceptable labels. Two utilities go further: Manitoba Hydro's Informative Bulletin 64-0 requires engraved lamacoids, red with white lettering, and Nova Scotia Power's B-64-200 requires engraved plates.
What colour are solar lamacoids?
White lettering on red is the Canadian convention for the Section 64 warning and identification plates. Manitoba Hydro and Nova Scotia Power put red with white lettering in writing. Neither BC Hydro's DGTIR-100 nor Toronto Hydro sets a colour for its tags, but BC Hydro's sample drawing shows the DG disconnect labels black on white and some B.C. inspectors ask for that. Our kit ships white on red, with the BC Hydro ID labels available black on white in the builder.
How many lamacoids does a solar house need?
A grid-tied Ontario house on a string inverter takes about 20 plates, and 16 on microinverters. Battery storage adds a block of its own. The province and the utility change the list, which is why the builder asks for both first.
How do I order solar lamacoids?
Build the kit online at solarlabels.ca/studio — pick the province, the system and the plates, and the price and an artwork proof come back before anything is cut. If you already have a plate list or a drawing, email it to Jake for a quote. No minimum order and no account.
Solar Labels is the solar brand of Llamacoids Inc, a Burlington lamacoid engraver that also makes electrical panel, breaker and equipment lamacoids.