Page 115 - Solar Power in Building Design The Engineer's Complete Design Resource

ROOF-MOUNT INSTALLATIONS 85

Figure 3.21 Wood roof-mount standoff sup-
port railing system assembly detail. Courtesy of UniRac.

designed to achieve a special visual effect, and are typically deployed in a solarium or
trellis type of structure. Because of the separation gap between the adjacent cells,
BIPV modules when compared to standard PV modules produce less energy per
square foot of area.
Under operational conditions, when solar power systems actively generate power,
a line carrying current at several hundred volts could pose serious burns or bodily
injury and electric shock if exposed during the roof demolition process. To prevent
injury under fire hazard conditions, all roof-mount equipment that can be accessed
must be clearly identified with large red-on-white labels. Additionally, the input to the
inverter from the PV collector boxes must be equipped with a crowbar disconnect
switch that will short the output of all solar arrays simultaneously.

Solar Tracking Systems Tracking systems are support platforms that orient solar
photovoltaic module assemblies by keeping track of the sun’s movement from dusk to
dawn, thus maximizing solar energy power generation efficiency. Trackers are
classified as passive or active and may be constructed to track in single or dual axis.