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Is there a problem with laying Solar panel horizontal on a flat roof without a frame?

JohnnyDangerDude said:
I searched Ebay, amazon, TEMU, Aliexpress, search like 2 full google results. It seem like no one wants to sell the IronRidge BX-5D-P1 BX Chassis 5.

Some will sell the 10 degree version but not the 5 degree version. I wonder if the entire company have these things locked down to end users.
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Try GreenTech Renewables. Just act like you know what you want cause they are actually Wholesalers but I bought much of my Ironridge ground mount from them. They have about 40 locations around the country including Miami.
 
There are a plethora of reasons you shouldn't just lay panels on your roof. Some for legal reasons (building codes), some for safety reasons (fires, firefighters, panels being blown off the roof and being potential flying objects at people and other property), some for monetary reasons (panels will get hotter, likely have shorter lifetime because of it, panels could be blown off and break and thus put you out the cost of the panel and whatever it may hit on the way down).

It's just a bad idea.
 
Eco Worthy has roof mounts and ground mounts. I ordered 2 sets of their basic unit for $200.00.
Will hold 4 full sized panels.
Just bolt them down set your angle and mount your panels.
Greg
 
Michael's Turtles said:
There are a plethora of reasons you shouldn't just lay panels on your roof. Some for legal reasons (building codes), some for safety reasons (fires, firefighters, panels being blown off the roof and being potential flying objects at people and other property), some for monetary reasons (panels will get hotter, likely have shorter lifetime because of it, panels could be blown off and break and thus put you out the cost of the panel and whatever it may hit on the way down).

It's just a bad idea.
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Sounds like an argument against all solar panels in general? Except for the excess heat from having no air flow under them.
 
JohnnyDangerDude said:
Sounds like an argument against all solar panels in general? Except for the excess heat from having no air flow under them.
Click to expand...

Not really. While it's possible the wind or an animal could knock off a panel that's properly mounted to the roof, it's highly unlikely and in the case the wind does do that, odds are the solar panel is going to be the least of your concerns.

Nothing is 100% safe no matter how much we humans like to pretend. But improper mounting and or not mounting panels at all is pushing one's luck (and dangerous to others unless you live near no one and no one can have access to your home or ever has access to your property) in many different ways and for very little reason.

If you can't afford the roof mounting set up, ground mount them in one of the hundred ways you'd like. If you can afford the roof mounting set up, just do that. Don't just lay them on the roof.
 
Hot air rises, so tilting the panels helps with air circulation. Laying them flat will help them under perform when hot.
 
Your AHJ should have a minimum wind rating listed for the mounts based on the local conditions. In my case, gilpin county Colorado, there is a wind zone map divided into 5 sections. Where my house is 130mph rating is required for the roof or ground mounts. I've clocked 105mph with my Davis weather station. The snow load rating is for a certain number of pounds per square foot that equates to 9ft of snow. The AHJ approval requires an engineering assessment of the roof structure and mounts to see that it will satisfy all the uplift and dead weight loads and not collapse. Unless I want to take out at least 50 trees I can't do ground mount. Once the one line drawing is approved by the AHJ the local power coop gets a turn which is basically must meet nec 2020.

The point of all this is to say there is a lot more to consider when roof mounting than doing ground mount, but even those have some steep learning curves.

Just laying loose panels on the roof... weight...ballasted or mounted means added weight... uplift from wind... snow load if it does in your area...

Do it gorilla style and one goes though the neighbor window and kills a kid... freak accident but possible... without the dead child there is a lawsuit and property damage to pay for.. do gorilla and get caught and the fine is probably large and the poco can pull the meter until inspected.

Flat on a wet roof could easily short out and cause a fire... NEC requirement is for all conduit/cable be minimum 7/8 in above the surface, water tight, and rated for 105c...arc fault and rapid shutdown required if a dwelling or structure that fire fighters may get up on. There is a thread from a month ago or so about a guy mounting on top of an Adobe dwelling that goes into all the details.

E

Thread 'Emt or rigid conduit for PV on outside of house?'

I have 400 volt dc solar coming from a ground array, wires buried in the ground, and then the solar wire will be coming up the side of a house. I know the code book mentions that on the outside or the inside of the house the high voltage DC needs to be enclosed in metal.... but I couldn't find the code reference to use EMT or rigid conduit as it goes up the side on the house.
I have PVC in the ground and when it comes up on the side of the house I will go into a junction box and then switch to metal as it goes up the side of the house.
For the metal pipe on the outside of...

There is a lot to mounting panels besides just throwing them up there. So, think, read, learn and be safe.

P.s. the only way I would do gorilla is if I did it 100% right and lived on more than my measly 1 acre. And if I was prepared to go off grid.

And last, this is not to say it can't be done or discourage, more to give you an idea why someone like me is spending 2 years planing every detail of a system before I buy anything more than my battery bank and inverter that will run the well and my server and office
 
Michael's Turtles said:
Not really. While it's possible the wind or an animal could knock off a panel that's properly mounted to the roof, it's highly unlikely and in the case the wind does do that, odds are the solar panel is going to be the least of your concerns.

Nothing is 100% safe no matter how much we humans like to pretend. But improper mounting and or not mounting panels at all is pushing one's luck (and dangerous to others unless you live near no one and no one can have access to your home or ever has access to your property) in many different ways and for very little reason.

If you can't afford the roof mounting set up, ground mount them in one of the hundred ways you'd like. If you can afford the roof mounting set up, just do that. Don't just lay them on the roof.
Click to expand...

I tried but the people who sell these mounts refuse to take my money. One buy was like 80 minimum order and the other guy said we won't sell to me unless I buy an entire system from him even though I already purchased much of the equipment already.

I guess maybe this is why Amazon did so well, he made a store that you could just buy something without having to jump though all these hoops by these store owners who act like some King or gatekeeper make up all these crazy requirements out of the blue for no reason.

It's like Ferrari has these cars they won't sell to you unless you have own other Ferrari in the past and can proof you are a good owner and worthy of buying the new car. That is the only time I have heard of any of this nonsense. That is why Jay Leno said he does not buy Ferrari because of all that BS they do. It's suppose to be you exchange money for product not all this "you must be worthy" stuff
 
Your attitude is really weird. You're trying to buy a product that no one has and complaining about how business won't sell you products they don't have or would make you buy the entire order (min quantity from the manufacturer).

Grow up and find a different product that you can order.
Have you tried Green Tech? They should have something close.
 
400bird said:
Your attitude is really weird. You're trying to buy a product that no one has and complaining about how business won't sell you products they don't have or would make you buy the entire order (min quantity from the manufacturer).

Grow up and find a different product that you can order.
Have you tried Green Tech? They should have something close.
Click to expand...

One seller drops ships all this products and will gladly sell you however many you want of the 10 degree however when it comes to 5 degrees, he wants like some insanely large number as a minimum order like 100 units.

The second seller said he will send them to me but ONLY if I buy an entire system from him. I already have most of the stuff already.

How is relaying my experience weird? The sellers are acting weird.

I need no drill flat mounts, 5 degree. I don't think there are other products available. They are the only game in town. So my only other options are to MacGyver something up .
 
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Why don't you just call the manufacturer and ask for a list of distributors for that product and see if any of them sell them in small quantities?

If that doesn't work out there is always unistrut
 
Heat and getting blown away is the biggest prob just laying them on a flat surface or out in the grass… they will work but they need air able to circulate to work best .all of my panels are mounted near the ground in several different ways…

im learning new stuff each time I mount a new array……. practice, measurement’s and recording data make for better end results…
Ever places , install and environment js different…

Cooler is better…

J.
 
Have you contacted this vendor - they sell stuff to installers and individuals in small quantities and they carry the mount you are looking for?

www.greentechrenewables.com

Going Beyond Supply

With industry-leading service and equipment, Greentech Renewables helps solar contractors install top quality solar PV systems, gain competitive advantage and grow their business.
www.greentechrenewables.com www.greentechrenewables.com
 
Brucey said:
Generally a roof mount will raise them a little above the roof, so air can get under there for some cooling. If you can get at least a few degrees of tilt that will help keep the panels clean as rain sheds off them
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roof mount rail kits are cheap on Amazon; best and easiest flashing is from Quickbolt.com.
 
robbob2112 said:
Why don't you just call the manufacturer and ask for a list of distributors for that product and see if any of them sell them in small quantities?

If that doesn't work out there is always unistrut
Click to expand...

Thank you for the suggestion but does Unistrut allow for flat(or near flat) mounting with no drill? I don't think it does.
 
JanisD said:
Just an link to video how it's done:
Four 8kWh DIY Solar Plants with neighbors (Part 2)
There are few more videos about this project in Andreas Spiess Youtube channel worth looking in.
Click to expand...

I don't think he said what mount he is using. Also, I think he is in Switzerland and the product may not exist for sale here in the USA? He said like "we got the calculations from the manufacturer" but does not say who that manufacturer is. He is talking a lot about his interactions with various people and their included hobbies and projects. One guy is a mountain climber or something. Then they are all having dinner at this time and having beers at another time. One guy was lazy and holding up the project because he did not follow some kind of philosophy("Theory of contrains from the book the goal" )

I would like to know what product to buy to get these mounted.
shut-up-and-take-my-money-2.jpg
 
JohnnyDangerDude said:
One seller drops ships all this products and will gladly sell you however many you want of the 10 degree however when it comes to 5 degrees, he wants like some insanely large number as a minimum order like 100 units.

The second seller said he will send them to me but ONLY if I buy an entire system from him. I already have most of the stuff already.

How is relaying my experience weird? The sellers are acting weird.

I need no drill flat mounts, 5 degree. I don't think there are other products available. They are the only game in town. So my only other options are to MacGyver something up .
Click to expand...
Google Signature Solar or Shop Solar. You can buy whatever you want from there. They're online stores. Reasonable prices too, but Shop Solar has terrible after sales support.

Also, I actually made a frame out of 2x4s for temporary roof mounting. I have a proper ground mount now, but still need to install.
 
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TM48 said:
No cost installation methods generally result in disappointment.
Click to expand...
You're very correct cos I've solved many issues resulting from little or no initial installation cost. Even had to change or recommend changing of panels in some cases.
 
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