[RE-wrenches] Ideas and racking systems for "stowing" ground mount PV array during snowy winter?

Tump tump at swnl.net
Wed Mar 30 08:55:16 EDT 2022 

I have found that after the first year the customer, after fighting w/ tilt up legs, that the array will usually end up in a single angle. It would seem to me w/ the # of proposed modules you look at a motorized  tilt option. There are companies, that  design & build this type of rack for commercial apps. they would be able to scale down something that would address your needs.  Design it 10 different ways, build it once!
> On Mar 30, 2022, at 1:54 AM, Jeff Clearwater via RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> 
> Coming back to this Blake - seems to me you need a platform type rack that has a tilt-up set of legs.
> 
> The Nuance Osprey is such a rack - though I think they only go up to 35ยบ but I think it could be easily adapted.  They use Earth Anchors but can also be mounted to sonotubes or even ground screws.
> 
> It's beefy strong - no aluminum - just might work with heavy snow.
> 
> https://nuanceenergy.com/solar-products/osprey-powerplatform <https://nuanceenergy.com/solar-products/osprey-powerplatform>
> 
> It's possible having two in portrait makes for too high a vertical but perhaps using 60 cell modules instead of 72 might make it workable.
> 
> Just a thought - hope it helps!
> 
> Best,
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~
> Jeff Clearwater
> <image.jpg>
> linkedin <https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-clearwater-0622a312/> 
> www.villagepowerdesign.com <http://www.villagepowerdesign.com/>
> cell - 413-559-9763
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>> Blake Gleason via RE-wrenches <mailto:re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> March 26, 2022 at 8:39 AM
>> Hi all, 
>> 
>> I think there's a lot of experience on this list with PV in snowy regions.
>> 
>> I'm wondering if anyone has ideas and/or specific hardware/racking systems to allow for easy "stowing" (in vertical or near-vertical position) or "seasonal removal" of the ground mount PV modules for the winter (snow) season?  Or ideas for a completely different approach to solving the challenge I'm facing?
>> 
>> I'm planning a new off-grid system in the Sierra (around 6000') for a small commercial community center facility.  The facility is accessible and in use only during the summer months.  So, I want to optimize production for the summer, and also avoid having the array destroyed by the heavy Sierra snow during the winter.  
>> 
>> To further paint the picture, here are some more details and constraints:
>> 
>> - System size: 23kW (likely 48 Silfab 490 mods)
>> - Must be ground mount (beautiful very tall trees completely surrounding all roof options)
>> - Must be relatively low profile, visually.  Pole mount not an option
>> - Ideally one clean rectangular array 4x12 mods (13' x 90') or two 4x6 arrays (13' x 45')
>> - Array tilt: 10-15 deg (summer use only, must be low-profile)
>> 
>> There is a caretaker who has a seasonal crew, and could be trained to "stow" the array each season as long as that process is relatively straightforward.  
>> 
>> At one end of the spectrum, it could be as simple as disconnecting and un-installing all of the modules to store them in a stack underneath the nearby deck for the winter.  I'd like to think there might be a more "elegant" solution (and less labor intensive, and less wear and tear on the modules over the years).  I wondered if there's a clever way to "drop" the modules to a near-vertical orientation so they could remain in place during the winter (some kind of hinge at the top and release at the bottom).  I guess this might require individual rows of modules instead of one large array.
>> 
>> (As a bonus, I'd like to keep about four mods (out of the 48) operational through the winter for battery maintenance and a few incidental loads.  These could be vertically mounted on the south side of one of the buildings, above the typical snow drift level, for example.)
>> 
>> Thanks in advance for any suggestions, ideas, things you've tried that haven't worked, etc!!
>> 
>> Best,
>> Blake
>> 
>> -- 
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