Residential Flat Roof Ballast-Mount System?

[acer008]

Hi all,

Long time lurker finally ready to make moves towards getting solar on my house. Have a few questions I haven't been able to answer myself by searching here and elsewhere, and will also share what I learn along the way. Any help is truly appreciated.

My roof set up:

• I have a south facing home with a separate accessory dwelling unit (carriage house) off the back of the driveway. Both have nice unshaded exposure (photo taken from south).
• I have two meters, one for each building. They are at the front of the driveway (approx. location shown in photo).
• I charge an EV off of a 240V 30amp connection from the carriage house.
• The carriage house was built about 10 years ago by a previous owner, the main house was built early 20th century as far as I can tell.

I recently had both roofs redone so they are in great shape compared to what is shown above. I want to add solar but since the roofs are mostly flat (each 2-3 degrees) I am less interested in puncturing/resealing the roof to anchor the panels.

I see tons of examples of nice looking ballast systems for commercial roofs all over the place, but have seen very few residential. The simple nature of a ballast system install also appeals to me in considering a DIY route.

Question 1: Does anyone have examples here or elsewhere of a roof ballast-mounted residential system? Or reasons not to use them? I would love to learn from others experiences but have come up empty. Specifically looking at using Unirac RM-10 EVO or the IronRidge BX Chassis, open to other suggestions too.

Question 2: Who do you recommend for a system design and plan set? I have looked at Greenlancer and Sunwatts so far. I would like to have the ability to ask questions and get some basic design guidance which I know may not happen if I just order a low-cost permitting set. I am OK to spend some money here since I am newer to the solar world and know experience doesn't come free, and would like to be able to bounce questions off of a trusted source as they come up when I am finalizing choices like racking, panel layouts, inverter type etc.

Thanks for reading this far, and really love all the amazing projects and inspiring stuff I have seen on this forum.

 

[chrisski]

Who do you recommend for a system design and plan set?

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A common complaint of all companies is not responsive to requests. This happens more after the last payment is made and the system is on the roof. They should be fairly responsive prior to the install.

Does anyone have examples here or elsewhere of a roof ballast-mounted residential system?

I would look at other roofs that have solar in your neighborhood to see what they do. My panels are rated for 110 MPH winds. I wonder how much concrete would be on your roof to hold down whatever your local code seems necessary for wind requirements.

 

[Danke]

First thing may be to hire a structural engineering firm to evaluate how much weight you can put on your roof.

This company will design a set up with their racking for you as part of the deal. It will be in the quote.

Flat Roof System | Solar Solutions For Solar Installers

DynoRaxx offers innovative solar mounting solutions worldwide since 2007. Get a FREE quote on flat-roof system products by contacting us!

dynoraxx.com

 

[acer008]

First thing may be to hire a structural engineering firm to evaluate how much weight you can put on your roof.

This company will design a set up with their racking for you as part of the deal. It will be in the quote.

Flat Roof System | Solar Solutions For Solar Installers

DynoRaxx offers innovative solar mounting solutions worldwide since 2007. Get a FREE quote on flat-roof system products by contacting us!

dynoraxx.com

Thanks, I reached out to them hope to hear back soon. Do you have any experience with them or their racking?

 

[Danke]

Thanks, I reached out to them hope to hear back soon. Do you have any experience with them or their racking?

No, I was planning on doing a flat roof install, but because it is a duplex, the AHJ said I could not do the work myself.