[RE-wrenches] Hurricanes and Wind-loading !

cwarfel cwarfel at entech-engineering.com
Wed Sep 13 05:22:39 PDT 2017


I am wondering if this will change the perspective of Florida utilities, 
regulators, and property owners with respect to distributed generation 
and resiliency.  The stories of people coming back to structures with no 
power and Florida's hot weather is not helping people function in the 
climate.  I realize ac is not a first thought option, but there are 
other cooling options.

Assuming the array is intact, it makes sense to use battery technology 
instead of having a high dependency on generators that rely on fuel that 
may not be available. Past experience shows that roofs with arrays or 
collectors fare better than those without, all things being equal. The 
racking system ties the roofing frame together so it acts more as a 
monolithic structure thanwithout. This increases the ability to resist 
uplift and downward forces. Any data would be appreciated.

Chris


On 9/12/2017 10:14 PM, Tom Lane wrote:
> Windloading MAPS of Florida depend on how close you are to the coast 
> and ground mounted versus say on top of a high rise near the beach and 
> how close you are to the wind zones . The one factor you cannot get 
> away with is directing clipping panels to metal roofs . You must use a 
> rail that holds all the panels to the rails instead of the simple 
> metal roof clips . The one important feature to control wind loads is 
> to use three rails on two end modules on each end of an array AND 1/2 
> set extra of mounting hardware on ALL two end modules . On a raise 
> array on a flat roof you should X brace the last three on each end . 
> Always stay 3 feet minimum away from hips , gable ends , valleys , 
> eves and ridges . Use 3/8 "SS attachments instead of 5/16 " and always 
> hit or attach to trusses and tie all trusses together with a five 
> pattern ( like on dice 🎲) instead of a four pattern which skips every 
> other truss . However any Hurricanes  over 175 MPH moving slow will 
> take everything out to the slab  , but if correctly installed, then 
> when the homeowner finds parts of their home the panels will  be 
> holding that part of the roof in one piece. GatorTom
>
>
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-- 
Christopher Warfel, PE
Entech Engineering, Inc.
401-466-8978

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