Rebecca,
We have encountered this a few years back on an inspector issue [ known by most of the early solar manufacturers as that SOB in CO] that he claimed the issue was subject to AHJ [...@#$%^ Having Jurisdiction] . I went over my inspectors head to his supervisor who saw my logic. The inspector came back at my with "Why did you do that we could have talked?" and it was one of those perfect moment to say "I tried and you did not want to hear me". We now get along great and have a real "working" relationship. He respects me and is now willing to discuss anything and it was a real transformation of the working relationship. I have found that upfront discussions to ask their opinion and treating inspectors as an advocate and involving them in the process turns a lot of these situations with inspectors into a good interaction. They need to feel wanted and appreciated and catch a lot of flack day in and out and I think it sours them in time. Hope this is constructive. Dana Orzel Great Solar Works, Inc www.solarwork.com E - [email protected] V - 970.626.5253 F - 970.626.4140 C - 970.209.4076 I will be the shift in how the world uses power! - Dana Orzel From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rebecca Lundberg Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 6:55 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [RE-wrenches] PV wind load Solar is somewhat 'new technology' where I live. :-) I have a building inspector that feels that (32) Sanyo modules (6.88 kW array) mounted to a house roof is going to cause undue stress to the roof truss (it is a regular house in a Minnesota suburb, building height is 26', 30 degree roof angle, in a suburban neighborhood. 2" x 4" manufactured truss). We are leaving 12-24" on each edge with no PV, and are careful to attach to the center of each rafter. The inspector is not that concerned with dead load, but is especially concerned with wind load. We have provided an engineering letter that ascertains that a solar array mounted parallel to the roof surface is well within the parameters of what a typical roof truss can handle. We were required to have an engineer look at this address specifically, so we then provided an additional engineer's letter that affirmed that yes, solar mounted in the manner we proposed (with Quick-Mount attachment and Unirac SolarMount rails, all installed according to manufacturers' instructions) would be fine on this home. The building inspector insists that the wind load is excessive, and wants more analysis. Do any of you have ideas, experience, or data that might help me? Rebecca Lundberg Powerfully Green Champlin, MN
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