Uphill solar advice

[siberian]

Designing an installation on the backside of my property. South-facing is uphill but sunny. For my 10' or so of pier spacing, I get about a 4' drop between the piers to the north (behind panels).

Design is 5x4 panels generated using the Ironridge simulator which does NOT allow you to simulate this sort of slope so their engine breaks with my configuration (at least as far as I can tell).

My thinking is that I can just use a longer 3" pole and maintain the design as is. Does that bring up any possible structure or wind issues? We are in a suburban valley with no real wind at all.

Image of the current plan with my slope issue:

https://imgur.com/a/oAvUXQa

Some snapshots of orientation out of Sketchup and Google Earth to get orientated. Panels are pointed at 168 degrees which for my zipcode is the right deviation from true south.

https://imgur.com/a/0nWlDc6

https://imgur.com/a/BnwaVP4

 

[Al D]

This sounds more of a structural question than an electrical one. It's advisable you speak with a structural engineer. I'll give you want I know.

I'm not sure I understand what you are trying to change with an additional 3". What pole are you increasing in the design?

I know that drag is a squared factor so a small change might have bigger effects than first anticipated. I also know that force on a plane is determined by the angle of incidence. The more perpendicular the force (wind) is to the flat panel array, the more force you achieve (great for sailing, not for solar arrays). So if you are titling the array to be more vertical, you'll be asking for more force on the array.

Energy production is likewise dependent on the angle of incidence, as you probably are already familiar with seeing you understand orientation. That being said, energy production will probably not suffer much if you had to stick to your design. It looks to be a fixed design so the total collected energy will be an average over the year. With a fixed array, you will notice more production in the summer and less in the winter, regardless of your design. The optimal orientation will help even out that delta, but not eliminate it.

I'm not familiar with the software you're using, but if it doesn't allow a certain configuration, it's probably best not to build it that way. Again, it is advisable to talk with a structural engineer.