DIY ground mount

[upnorthandpersonal]

I like your wood solar mount! How is the 1st one holding up so far? I've been considering a wood mount since for an off-grid system and I don't see a lot of wind in my area and not enough snow to worry about. It won't be subject to any inspections.

No issues what so ever.

 

[Ozark Tinkering]

It uses 6 concrete posts (60kg each) and accompanying M20 pillar shoes

I can see I have been way too concerned about that aspect of my coming project. You basically only have 6-22kg. cement anchors to hold down your solar sail. That's equal to about 9 bags of that pallet of redi-mix I have sitting under my carport, for a 3k watt system.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

You basically only have 6-22kg.

6 x 60kg. They also look like this:



So the gravel on top adds additional ballast. The reason I use these is because I can't dig deep in the ground: it's all bedrock here...

 

[Ozark Tinkering]

6 x 60kg. They also look like this:

View attachment 82134

So the gravel on top adds additional ballast. The reason I use these is because I can't dig deep in the ground: it's all bedrock here...

I'm sorry. Yeah. I have the number of bags of concrete right and wrote the wrong kg weight for your anchors.
What size is that square base?

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

What size is that square base?

450mmx450mm. You can get them larger of course, but this should be more than sufficient.

 

[Ozark Tinkering]

450mmx450mm. You can get them larger of course, but this should be more than sufficient.

..and about 600mm tall?

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

..and about 600mm tall?

Yep!

 

[Ozark Tinkering]

That sure looks like a great solution for an off-grid project in a moderate climate. Would you feel comfortable going one set of 2 panels wider or would you recommend keeping it at 4?

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

That sure looks like a great solution for an off-grid project in a moderate climate. Would you feel comfortable going one set of 3 panels wider or would you recommend keeping it at 6?

Yeah, I would be fine expanding this horizontally, with some additional pillars. The reason I went for this was to have as little cuts as possible in the wood. The horizontal beams are 4.2 meters long, the vertical one 2.1 meters, etc. They come in 48mmx98mm and 4.2 meters long (pressure treated), so it works perfectly for 2 meter long solar panels like this. You need 10 of those to build this mount, with zero waste.

 

[Ozark Tinkering]

The main thing for me I think will be the cost savings of building with wood. I plan to buy used panels on the cheap so I don't want the mount to cost more than my panels.

 

[Ozark Tinkering]

I paid a premium for my grid-tied system because it had to pass inspection.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

The main thing for me I think will be the cost savings of building with wood. I plan to buy used panels on the cheap so I don't want the mount to cost more than my panels.

That was one of my main goals as well. I wanted to see what I could do for a few 100€ instead of buying metal racking etc. That, and this fit better into my low cost challenge.

I paid a premium for my grid-tied system because it had to pass inspection.

These also passed inspection. Finnish law even has an exception for building solar ground mounts in that you don't need a building permit for them.

 

[Ozark Tinkering]

I got to this thread by following the link in your A list of low cost items that I use for my 10KW set-up.
Have you finished installing the other 8kw of panels yet?

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

I got to this thread by following the link in your A list of low cost items that I use for my 10KW set-up.
Have you finished installing the other 8kw of panels yet?

Yes, all installed. But I'm going to make some configuration changes etc. this spring. I've found some decent power optimizers which should help with some of the shading I get at certain times of the year.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

Since I didn't add a picture of this before, here is the mount with 6 panels partially installed (needs some more brackets in front just like the lower ones). I also added an extra beam in the back to provide additional wind support. An additional horizontal beam to connect it all together is not yet installed at the time these pictures were taken. Total cost to add the additional parts to the mount, around €50 or so (slightly more if you would today due to increased prices).

 

[WalterM]

Since I didn't add a picture of this before, here is the mount with 6 panels partially installed (needs some more brackets in front just like the lower ones). I also added an extra beam in the back to provide additional wind support. An additional horizontal beam to connect it all together is not yet installed at the time these pictures were taken. Total cost to add the additional parts to the mount, around €50 or so (slightly more if you would today due to increased prices).

View attachment 116552View attachment 116553

Since you stated that you're @63° North shouldn't your panel be angled at 63 degrees? They don't appear to be adjustable.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

Since you stated that you're @63° North shouldn't your panel be angled at 63 degrees? They don't appear to be adjustable.

They are at around 65 degrees from ground.
They're not adjustable; this angle is optimized for spring and autumn.

 

[brandnewb]

Wow!!!

I am always, in the back of my mind, thinking about 'how could my turbinr be of benefit up north.

An actual tree mount is what I have envisioned.

sure i am not yet in any position to claim anyting. let's hope i soon have

 

[OffGridForGood]

They are at around 65 degrees from ground.
They're not adjustable; this angle is optimized for spring and autumn.

The bottom doesn't get buried in snow? ie from sliding down the PV and piling up?
If I had a ground mount I would need to be 1.5-2.0m (5 - 7 feet) above grade or shovel them out frequently.

 

[Hedges]

At least, orient the panels, wire the strings, wire the array so they tolerate shading across the bottom well.
That is the use case for large commercial ground mount arrays, multiple tilted rows.