Keeping in line with the whole low-cost solar system, building my own braided bus bars, etc. I thought I would see what it takes to build a low-cost ground mount for those 500W 96 cell panels (1310mm x 1956mm). My goals were to make the whole thing simple to build, with minimal tools and simple measurements. And of course, low cost. I waited with this build specifically until end of summer here in Finland, because now one can get some really good deals on deck/terrace impregnated wood since no one is building them anymore vendors are giving discounts. Same for concrete foundations. The results first:


It's designed to hold up to 6 of these 500W panels, but this one will probably only carry 4.
- Timber to start from was 50x100x4200mm, in total 10 pieces used at a cost of €11 a piece delivered.
- It uses 6 concrete posts (60kg each) and accompanying M20 pillar shoes, for a cost of €30 each delivered.
- Additionally some fasteners and L brackets, maybe for a total of €30, probably less since they were bought in bulk
- The L brackets were also used to secure the solar panels themselves to the frame
Total: €320 including VAT and delivery. Time to build: a few hours; leveling the ground not included.
The beams dimensions were chosen as this would limit the number of cuts and would result in 0 waste. The front lower beam are two beams fastened together. The vertical ones are a single beam cut in half and joined. The cross beam attached to the vertical pillars is again a single fill length beam. The diagonal ones are full length beams in the picture. Either they can be used to support 6 panels, or the excess can be cut off and used as additional reinforcement. The piece of wood that the panels rest on at the bottom was some left over stuff I had around; but L brackets could be used just as well. The front and back rows of concrete posts are 1 meter apart, the posts themselves are 2 meters apart from one another.
The other nice thing about these dimensions is that this results in an almost perfect angle for spring/winter/autumn when the sun is low.


It's designed to hold up to 6 of these 500W panels, but this one will probably only carry 4.
- Timber to start from was 50x100x4200mm, in total 10 pieces used at a cost of €11 a piece delivered.
- It uses 6 concrete posts (60kg each) and accompanying M20 pillar shoes, for a cost of €30 each delivered.
- Additionally some fasteners and L brackets, maybe for a total of €30, probably less since they were bought in bulk
- The L brackets were also used to secure the solar panels themselves to the frame
Total: €320 including VAT and delivery. Time to build: a few hours; leveling the ground not included.
The beams dimensions were chosen as this would limit the number of cuts and would result in 0 waste. The front lower beam are two beams fastened together. The vertical ones are a single beam cut in half and joined. The cross beam attached to the vertical pillars is again a single fill length beam. The diagonal ones are full length beams in the picture. Either they can be used to support 6 panels, or the excess can be cut off and used as additional reinforcement. The piece of wood that the panels rest on at the bottom was some left over stuff I had around; but L brackets could be used just as well. The front and back rows of concrete posts are 1 meter apart, the posts themselves are 2 meters apart from one another.
The other nice thing about these dimensions is that this results in an almost perfect angle for spring/winter/autumn when the sun is low.
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