Solar panel mounting on Guy Wires

[nscottsdale]

Ok, so i have this hair brained idea...

I have a lot size where i can put in a pickleball court, but if im pouring a slab i would add a few bays of enclosed garage (A) at one end and do a wet bar / counter facing the court.

Im in AZ so its sunny and for the sides (B) i see i can get a pallet of corten steel laser perforated 4 x8 or 4 x10 sheets ordered.... at my quantity a custom pattern is allowed.


So to get some shade (C) is it feasible to string pairs of stainless guy wires and mount panels on them? I imagine when windy they may oscillate like the Tacoma bridge....

Let the criticism begin.....

 

[12VoltInstalls]

is it feasible to string pairs of stainless guy wires and mount panels on them? I imagine when windy they may oscillate like the Tacoma bridge....Let the criticism begin.....

I might do that, but rather than cables it probably buy 1/2” square steel which I think is standard st 22’ lengths. Might be 18’length? I might use 1/4”x2” alternatively.

Either way, I’d use one intermediate vertical every 6-7’ and then weld in 1/4” or 5/16 rounds diagonally That oughta be light and strong enough captured to a st

 

[clockmanfr]

a

 

[12VoltInstalls]

Not too many of us deal with cactus shading

 

[curiouscarbon]

your image brought a smile to my face

the engineering involved in successfully implementing such a project is beyond me

the idea is sound in theory to me.

stresses from wind would be top of my list to figure out.

perhaps a similar structure could be completed with solid material.

good luck! the creativity in concept is appreciated ?

 

[SamDeleted]

a

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Why not just ground mount ???

 

[OzSolar]

a

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That is neat. Tracking as well. Looks like something Steve Baer from ZomeWorks put together.

 

[nscottsdale]

Not ground mount - because trying to create shade over the court.

Standard purlins in steel building can be had at 30' A steel building "shell" is probably a starting point.. but i know the rigidity and wind loads expects the steel panels to be part of the equations.

I am not in an HOA, but my neighborhood has nice homes so the effort is to be aesthetically pleasing if i move forward.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

stresses from wind would be top of my list to figure out.

Yup. It would not work here. I had to fasten down all my short-length solar cable wires due to the wind patterns here. I’ve had a few MC4’s break in summer, but when it’s cold out the cables broke MC4’s continuously due to being bandied about in gusty winds.

Those panels mounted on cables, here, wouldn’t make it I don’t think.

 

[Shimmy]

I've seen something done with guy wire "trusses" before for solar panels, but I doubt it is the best solution; you are going to have to resolve some significant forces at each end.

Just going for a metal building frame would be interesting and could look nice-- you could use the Z-Purlins as rails for your mounting panels. You could also potentially do light gauge steel joists to span across the court which would give you a mono-pitch roof that could be consistently sloped to the south. A 14" joist can span about 30', and if you get the "trade ready" units with extruded holes it might give a nice play on shadows.