Aluminum Extrusion = OK Panel Holder???

[Calsa]

Hello from Madagascar! I am a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mada and need some advice on mounting a solar panel. I will soon be purchasing a 250w solar panel and was wondering what the best way to build a frame to hold it will be. This particular panel will need to be mounted on top of a shed. 40 (well as close as I can find here in Mada...) pole about 12 feet up to help deter vandalism, theft, cows destroying it as they roam through my yard, and to ensure max sunshine. However as I am a volunteer in a foreign country getting a frame kit from the states is not an option, so I will have to build it myself.

My question is, will Aluminum extrusion be strong enough for this application? Note that this panel will both be high up in the air on a pole and possibly exposed to anything from cyclones to constant humidity as I live in a rain forest. Aluminum wont rust and I don't care if it tarnishes a bit, but we do have about 3 cyclones a year (hurricanes that spin backwards) and I would hate to see the frame break with that big of panel that far off the ground. I am living out in the countryside so there are no welding shops around, so I will need to fabricate whatever frame I need here in my village. I thought I saw extrusion in one of the district capitals and got to wondering if it would be suited for this application as all I need is a hacksaw to cut it and I am good to go.

Also...

Do panels survive well in rough weather like a cyclone? What do people do back home in the states when a hurricane comes through? Do they take down the panels and store them, or can you leave them up in torrential rain, ext...

Is there a way to protect them from lighting strikes, hail, ext without taking them down as that panel is going to be really heavy and will be far off the ground.

Any advice on securing a panel so it does not wander off?

[FunGas]

Guy it with stainless wires. Use two or three sets of guys if you're going higher than, say, 5m up.
Your aluminium mast is going to have to be fairly meaty to take all that weight and shearing, not just a 1.5" diameter pole.
A substantial amount of concrete for a solid base is worth looking into before you start.

[davebrik]

How are you going?

Hello!

How are you going with your project? I think you may use aluminium extrusion, but you need to choose appropriate thickness, say 5 mm is enough. It's better to use aluminium than stainless steel for example because of it weight (less than steel) and maybe cost. You must take into account the moment that wind implies on solar panel when building your concrete pole basis. The moment on the pole basis will be F*L (F-wind force, L-pole length). F=A*P*Cd, where A-is area of solar panels (active area), P-wind pressure, Cd- drag coefficient.