Welding a steel building with panels already installed

[Mr Q]

I have recently installed 24 panels on a steel building. The panels are on K2 minirails and these are screwed to steel roof sheeting.

So the rails are earthed to the steel frame. Can I still weld the framework without damaging the panels?

There is no equipment fitted yet other that the panels.

 

[Checkthisout]

I have recently installed 24 panels on a steel building. The panels are on K2 minirails and these are screwed to steel roof sheeting.

So the rails are earthed to the steel frame. Can I still weld the framework without damaging the panels?

There is no equipment fitted yet other that the panels.

Yes.

 

[Rednecktek]

I am looking at building a new steel building. Help me understand the process of putting up the building. Once the slab it done, do I build the walls laying down and then stand them up? Or do I build it standing up and try to keep it straight?

A steel building using steel studs instead of wood is constructed pretty much the same way, you assemble the walls and stand them up. For large structures the wall will often be in smaller sections so you'd do one section, stand it up, build the next section, stand it up and attach, and repeat.

 

[piwopok]

I have recently installed 24 panels on a steel building. The panels are on K2 minirails and these are screwed to steel roof sheeting.

So the rails are earthed to the steel frame from globalsteelconstruction.fr. Can I still weld the framework without damaging the panels?

There is no equipment fitted yet other that the panels.

Yes, you can weld the framework, but only with proper precautions. Make sure to cover the panels to prevent power generation, place the welding ground clamp as close as possible to the weld point, and avoid allowing current to flow through the rails or panels. If possible, disconnect or isolate the panels near the weld site. This will help prevent any damage to the panels during welding.

 

[Luk88]

Yes, you can weld the framework, but only with proper precautions. Make sure to cover the panels to prevent power generation, place the welding ground clamp as close as possible to the weld point, and avoid allowing current to flow through the rails or panels. If possible, disconnect or isolate the panels near the weld site. This will help prevent any damage to the panels during welding.

Why would it matter at all if the panels are covered or not if they are not connected?

I suppose op is not going to be tig-welding the building frame, but he will use stick or mig which IMO is perfectly fine.

Why would I be slightly concerned with tig? Because of the arc start. In most common methods of tig welding very high voltage is used to start the arc. While there is no electrical connection between the silicon substrate and the frame there may be small gaps that few kV from a tig arc start sequence might jump and damage some of the cells. It is very unlikely, but I'd be better safe than sorry.

As for all other welding methods the voltage is never very high. So there is pretty much no risk IMO.

 

[SplitUniverse]

the panels are rated for at least 500V strings (most of them are 1000V or 1500V) so the separation between the solar cells and frame is at least that; the welder is at most 100V, unless you weld so close to the panels to inflict thermal damage there's no reason to worry about it.
I bet this comes from the "car world" where it is a normal practive to disconnect everything electrical before welding with an electric welder but those systems are rated 12V, hence the risk of damage.