Ground mount cost per watt or $/panel

How are you guys evaluating ground mount system costs? That is, how many $/watt?

I’d evaluating alternative ground mount systems. But I’ve not paid attention to this topic.

I’d appreciate any rough numbers.

Thanks

edit-changed title to include $/panel

Here’s a starting place. $/panel. $70 strikes me as high. Working on better solutions.

Aerocompact rack. Probably least amount of steel per panel. Easy to DIY.

Currentconnected.com

Inspired by that design here are my literally back of envelope doodles. The idea to use cheap pipe or rebar driven into ground vertically as support with custom made brackets which can be made for a $1 each.

AntronX said:

Aerocompact rack. Probably least amount of steel per panel. Easy to DIY.
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Too bad there is not pricing info on the site. I made the mistake of inquiring once. The spam emails and calls lasted about 2 years.?

AntronX said:

Inspired by that design here are my literally back of envelope doodles. The idea to use cheap pipe or rebar driven into ground vertically as support with custom made brackets which can be made for a $1 each.
View attachment 189162

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I like it. I’m working on t-posts sleeved with 2” fence posts and strut.

Getting about $40 per panel.

AntronX said:

Aerocompact rack. Probably least amount of steel per panel. Easy to DIY.
View attachment 189159

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Those are interesting but annoying they don't just have an online store or something.

@AntronX inspired me to post my own doodles.

This is roughly $20 per panel for a ballasted system. In real life closer to $25 with misc hardware.

2” flat bar isn’t that hard to bend once you make a jig.

ps-just learning how to use the Apple pencil.

I like blue panel placement. Use up every inch of rack space.

I didn’t draw it but obviously they would need some cross braces from flat bar to flat bar to make it stand up. There should be plenty of extra on those 20 foot sticks.

$20/450w = 4.4c/watt racking cost. That's cheap. I really don't like paying 30c/w for racking when panels are 20c/w.

With ~400$ of steel going into my newest V5.0 array design holding 1500W of panels, that works out to be ~27 cents per Watt. This is my rotating array that can be adjusted for both azimuth and declination.

MichaelK said:

With ~400$ of steel going into my newest V5.0 array design holding 1500W of panels, that works out to be ~27 cents per Watt. This is my rotating array that can be adjusted for both azimuth and declination.View attachment 189203

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Any pictures of the backside?

Bluedog225 said:

How are you guys evaluating ground mount system costs? That is, how many $/watt?

I’d evaluating alternative ground mount systems. But I’ve not paid attention to this topic.

I’d appreciate any rough numbers.

Thanks

edit-changed title to include $/panel

Click to expand...

I prefer to not skimp on mounts. I have certain requirements such as 105mph wind rating, tilting array with a range of 15° to 55° (prefer more if I can get it) 4 feet minimum of ground clearance at full 55° or more tilt. Lifespan of 30 years or longer. I want something easily covered by insurance.

As such, I'm willing to pay a premium for a mount, way more than I pay for panels. I did recently pickup some used MT Solar seasonal adjust and for 30 panels it would be about $3,000 installed. So $100/panel or $0.26 per watt. Panels are 31 370W for total of 11.47Kw and cost $2020 delivered to my door. Total cost will be $0.44 per watt.

The 16 panel MT Solar I already have installed was about $8500 installed, $531.25/panel but the modules are oversized 530W and required a custom mount. It came to $1.00 per watt. Panels were $4530 for a total of 8.42Kw to my door. Total cost per watt is $1.55 per watt.

That shows how much prices have changed in a few years. Panels are cheaper and with some competition on the market the price of engineered mounts is getting very competive. I did check with Sinclair, the final cost delivered to my door with the 31 panels would come to $0.804 per watt.

This really rough draft uses t-posts sleeved with 2" fence posts for vertical and top to bottom runs.

Then strut for left to right. All 10” (not the t-posts).

Around $45 per panel and no digging.

Around 0.16 per watt for my 275 watt panels.

Schweg2 said:

Any pictures of the backside?

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Sorry, it was supposed to be there?

BTW, if anyone happens to notice that the array appears to be in deep shade, that is because this array is pointed due West, for late afternoon sun, but the pics were taken before noon, with a big Oak to the East of it adding the shade.

Is anyone counting labor time as money? It is a considerable investment. Some of these suggestions require a lot more work than others. The racking system I've sold the most of is the APA Solar Ready-Rack kit. It uses ground screws, helical piles, or ballast baskets. Customers typically use a Skidsteer Auger attachment and crank it out in one day. There is no concrete to mix, no holes to dig, and it meets county permit requirements. I know a lot of DIYers don't "need" permits, but some of us have to comply. I had one customer who got called out on an unpermitted ground mount and couldn't get an engineer to sign off on it. She had to rip it all out and do it per code if she wanted to get it grid-tied. My advice is to get an engineer involved, design a system that meets your actual needs, not a guesstimate, and do it right the first time.

Have a great day!

ncsolarelectric said:

She had to rip it all out and do it per code if she wanted to get it grid-tied.

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That's her main mistake right there. Should have researched before doing DIY install.

ncsolarelectric said:

Is anyone counting labor time as money? It is a considerable investment. Some of these suggestions require a lot more work than others. The racking system I've sold the most of is the APA Solar Ready-Rack kit. It uses ground screws, helical piles, or ballast baskets. Customers typically use a Skidsteer Auger attachment and crank it out in one day. There is no concrete to mix, no holes to dig, and it meets county permit requirements. I know a lot of DIYers don't "need" permits, but some of us have to comply. I had one customer who got called out on an unpermitted ground mount and couldn't get an engineer to sign off on it. She had to rip it all out and do it per code if she wanted to get it grid-tied. My advice is to get an engineer involved, design a system that meets your actual needs, not a guesstimate, and do it right the first time.

Have a great day!

Click to expand...

Do those ground screws work in rocky soil?