I've been in the solar industry for 25 years and when I had my business, I did hundreds and hundreds of rooftop installations and was initially trained by a roofer. 15 years later I have had absolutely zero leaks. It's not rocket science, it's called proper training and an ethic of good workmanship. Something that is sadly missing with many solar contractors these days.
Absolutely correct when you talk about using proper flashed attachments (7:30) I've tried many different "PucK" style mounts, they are always the ones I've had issues with. If you're putting solar on a roof, use the flashing style mounts.
I found this video to be extremely well done. I learned quite a bit. The one question I have, which maybe you have an idea about is would there be any temperature difference between a roof mounted, as in the video and a ground mount. My thought is it's possible that if a panel is roof mounted, and off the surface of the roof by a few inches, the air behind the panel may increase slightly and add allow the panels themselves to reach a slightly higher surface temp than it would on a ground mount, which would presumably have a lot of open space and the air below the panel would stay fairly constant to the ambient temp outside.
Raysolar, why don't you use the roof flashing that has the 3" standoff made to it, with the 3" screw on watertight standoff that covers the rafter bolt, that you mount the rail to. No RTV sealant needed and it cannot leak ever
This is a very good movie. There are always some assholes Don’t know anything, but they know everything better. It’s more important to make an extra hole to find the center then have her Hurrican takeoff all the solar panels. And one little extra holes can be siliconed And never leak.
Flashing is the only way worth doing,but the one he used is not it,if you need rtv sealant,don't do it.. Mine is similar to this but a 3" standoff made to it,bolt through the center standoff,with a screw on watertight 3" standoff on top of that covering the bolt,rails bolt to that. The only way this could leak is to be ripped off the roof,best in the business and will outlast your roof. JM2C
I would love to see the engineering testing done on these mounts. They look like they would be very waterproof except they would have a weakness for driving rain. I would like to know if they can stand up to Florida wind.
I don't know why you want to hack your panels with that street brush. I never have to do that. when the panel starts generating power, it causes the ice and snow to melt. I have found that even a thick layer of snow shuts off the power supply almost completely, even though the voltage has risen to the level required by the charge controller. That thin layer of snow and ice - which does not come off by brushing - does not, in my experience, reduce the available power at all. I have done it by scraping all the ice stuck to the glass and the snow on its surface with a Japanese leaf from the entire area of the panel without scratching the glass. But when I look at the Victron's Power curve, I see no difference in wattage before and after de-icing. So the ice and the one-flake-thick layer of snow on top of it doesn't reduce the yield. Whatever the real explanation of the phenomenon, I have found in my numerous tests every time that removing the ice and one layer of snow stuck to it does not increase the yield at all. As long as the panel produces power, it heats up even in freezing temperatures and melts the ice on its own - as long as the output can start. Another interesting phenomenon is that the return on a slightly cloudy winter day is just as good as on a clear winter day. This is due to the fact that on a slightly cloudy day the sunlight does not heat up the panel as it does on a sunny day. As the panels heat up, their yield decreases, so a lightly cloudy day is just as good as a completely cloudless winter day.
The hole you made to hit the rafter and the hole you made to miss the rafter are the only two you need to know center or close enough anyway. At the end of the job that’s a lot of unnecessary holes if you add up all the third holes. Flashing covering them or not. It’s just best practice, fewer holes the better and less chances for a leak
An interesting thing is that silicon photovoltaic cells are actually infrared LEDs when current runs through then backwards. So that could provide a lot of heat to naturally dethaw solar modules without any additional hardware. However, the blocking diodes installed in panels won't allow reverse current unfortunately. However, I figure it might not cost too much more for the factory to add a thermal heater pad (or two) on the back of each solar module. If using microinverters array, there is already a ready supply of the home's own mains 60Hz 240VAC power up there to hook these up to using the same MC4 connectors on the home run cable. Solar module prices are dropping rapidly so there will arrive a price point to have this heating technology as on option for snowy winter climates like Canada -- it could just be '-W" winter sub-model of any module. It would cost *not* too much more in labor either, as its just as simple as plugging an extra connection from the heaters to the microinverter. The microinverters contain both the 240VAC power (from the home) as well as the logic to operate the heaters at the most optimal times.
I find that lifting the shingles first with the flat bar then cutting your shingles with large scissors takes about half the time. In my opinion you should dress those nail holes you pulled out with roof mastic and the entire bottom of the metal flashing under the shingles with mastic as well. Very clean electric work, great demonstration. Thank you.
How much snow would accumulate on such a steep tilt if not removed frequently? I am attempting to estimate worst case snow loads but this difficult to calculate so empirical data would be useful if I can find it.
Unfortunately we do not have any empirical data on how much snow would hold on this tilt, especially given the multitude of environmental factors at play. We recommend clearing these panels with a snow rake if at all possible.
Hello Peter, that may depend on how much snow is on the panels, but we recommend you use a snow rake to clear the panels in the winter and from there generally the panels will melt what remains on the panels from there.
Ok great! I was looking at vertically mounted solar panels today just because of how much snow we get. They perform worse than south facing in the summer but if you have snow the light reflected off the ground can make them comparable in the winter when I need it the most. And you don’t need to clean them. We get 15-20 feet of snow each winter. I’m at 9k feet in the mountains. Just thought I would share since you probably get decent snow too in your spot.
@@peterwilkinson1975 Absolutely, what some of our clients use is an adjustable ground mount where you can use a crank to change the angle depending on the season.
Hello, thanks for tuning in. Yes, the custom Honda Harness will work in combination with the Schneider AGS. www.raysolar.ca/shop/product/schneider-electric-conext-automatic-generator-start-ags/ Thank you
We will as soon as we get more snow. What would you like to see @rabiabaloch6111? It has been an unusually mild winter with less precipitation vs last winter :)
Sorry for the delay. The flashing can be purchased here and is in stock: www.raysolar.ca/shop/product/kinetic-solar-flashing-kit-w-3-lag-bolts/ Please give us a call as there are a couple different configurations We can be reached toll free: 1-844-548-7297
I get this on my panels on my house all the time. when snow is more then 1 inch deep, I get out my snow rake[ has styrofoam head ] to keep form damaging panels . Its really hairy when I get 6 to 8 inches, and it all flies down on top of me when I break lower level panels free
Sorry for the delay. Great question. Setback around the perimeter of the roof should generally be 12". You want to consider if you're too close the the eaves edge, the rain will shoot off the solar panels and miss the eavestrough. Other consideration are cleaning the panels and access. Always leave yourself enough room to navigate safely while maximizing the solar production.
thank you for this video. I have a 10 awg wire going into one of these fuses, however even with a (yellow) 10awg ferrule the wire pops out easily despite the screw being tighten quite well. Any suggestions? Can I crimp a larger ferrule over the 10awg ferrule and screw that into the fuse?
Hello Rob, Thank you for the question, I would recommend contacting our offices for an answer on this question, our information is as follows: www.raysolar.ca/contact_us/
Kudos to you for building a solar system in such an inhospitable climate. I live on Maui and I'm building a 16.5 kW system to go completely offline. But even now on December 22nd, we will get 4.5 hours of usable sunlight ( over 1,000 watts per meter squared). Do you get enough wind to supplement in the winter?
Thank you! We have found that we can use solar all year round. The sun works just as well on those cold days as the warm ones, and a few extra panels makes up for the shorter winter days.
Note to self: Do NOT put solar panels on the roof of a building in Canada, unless it's an A-Frame with one side facing south! I couldn't imagine living that far north and having solar panels that can't be adjusted seasonally.
Really depends on the owners goals and circumstances. Whenever a property can allow for ground mounted solar array--100% its the way to go. Ground mount for the purpose of adjustability, snow clearing and maximum production does provide its positive benefits. Owners should consider the cost of a ground mount in 90% of cases will exceed a roof mount installation. When you live off the grid full time, unequivocally a ground mount system has numerous benefits over a roof mounted system.
Wir sind uns nicht sicher, was Sie meinen und warum Sie es für teuer halten. Dies ist eine ordnungsgemäße und übliche Installation. Vielen Dank fürs Einschalten.( We are unsure what you mean and why you feel it's expensive. This is a proper and common installation. Thank you for tuning in.)
Hey soladeck you guys rock. It’s true your soladeck roof box has proven its greatness. Here in N California we standardized this great box (*with incorporated roof flashing). ....for most asphalt shingle installations and some flat tile( with secondary flashing underneath). But seriously your product is nearly perfect. Multiple hundreds installed. 0h yah.....Please move the interior upper romex concentric knockouts down about 1/4”.
Top of pole mount is how every solar powered home in north Idaho I've seen is done. Reason are we don't like snow removal chores. With your solar panels tipoff polemoint and have the bottom 6 feet off the ground when panelsare set to winter angle of 65°. At this far north it maximizes solar power production and mire importantly snow doesn't really stick to them at this steep a angle. I only have to do snow solar panel chores if I get 6 feet of standing snow on the ground most years I don't. Solar powered since 1983 40 years teaches you things.
Absolutely. Every property owners circumstances and available space will make a difference. Any time you can go ground mount it makes maximizing production in the winter much more efficient!
