This is mostly for Florida wrenches, but there may be some wider insight and similarities with other jurisdictions.
In Florida, many jurisdictions require a solar contractor to sign an affidavit stating that solar panels are installed per certain guidelines, typically that they meet some Florida Solar Energy Center standard and that they are installed in or around trusses and the system weight does not exceed 5 lb per square foot. The affiant signs this document under the penalty of perjury in order to avoid the requirement for a detailed inspection of the structural attachments. I have been on a one-man mission trying to get these documents revised in each jurisdiction where I work. My problem with the document in most jurisdictions is twofold: 1. The affidavit often references an FSEC design guide that is intended for solar pool heating and solar domestic water heating systems. It is not applicable to photovoltaic systems, yet jurisdictions ask you to certify that a PV system was installed per this design guide. 2. There are numerous products on the market and instances where a decking only attachment is appropriately used without attaching to a truss. There is nothing I can find in the International Building Code or Florida Building Code that requires a truss attachment. If the product being used is designed for decking only and if the system is designed by a professional engineer, I don't see any requirement for a truss attachment. Futhermore, a commercial roof may not even have trusses, per se. A concrete screw or anchor may be used, or a ballasted or semi-ballasted mounting system could work. Purlin attachments are common. Base plates with screws in steel decking can work. Perhaps the most common exception to truss attachments here are standing seam clamps. Anyway, I'm trying to figure out the origin of these documents and how they were originally applied to both solar thermal and PV systems. I don't have a problem signing them if they are accurate and what I'm signing is not perjurious. But I'm seeing contractors blindly doing just that every day. Jason Szumlanski Florida Solar Design Group
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