I have seen repeat melting and freezing rip the frames from the modules, granted these modules were not sealed or glued in. But just consider if water can get in a rail and freeze then any extruded frames with inclosed channels can be effected. Option is to drill the boxed channel to promote drainage. Once the rail is weakened or warped then what was holding the glass in is no longer and then the glass failed without the support. So if you have a ground mount then tilt it to vertical.
On Sun, Mar 27, 2022, 9:52 AM Jeff Clearwater via RE-wrenches < [email protected]> wrote: > Hi Blake, > > I'm curious why the assumption that the snow will destroy the array - how > about 3 rails instead of 2 under the modules? > > Blake Gleason via RE-wrenches <[email protected]> > 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 > > -- > > Blake Gleason, PE | Employee Owner > Director of Innovation and Technical Excellence > O: 510-845-2997 x128 > C: 510-867-5878 > > 1035 Folger Ave. > Berkeley, CA 94710 > www.sunlightandpower.com > License #326203 > > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org > > List Address: [email protected] > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the > other: > https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > http://www.members.re-wrenches.org > > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org > > List Address: [email protected] > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the > other: > https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > http://www.members.re-wrenches.org > >
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