Going to be installing a 7.5kw system.. 3 rows up by 9 columns long.
The problem I'm having is that the Ironridge ground mount system puts the low side of the panels only 30 inches above the ground.. I wouldn't even be able to safely mow the grass without worry of a rock hitting them.. then there's the issue of snow here in Michigan... scraping snow off the panels would build up a mound on the low side pretty quick.
So, the easiest remedy is to simply lift the mounting system up another 24 inches.. that would do it. My thought is to simply extend the concrete pillars up.. instead of them being finished off at ground level, I would use sonotubes to raise the pillars an extra 24 inches and add some rebar.. Add in the 30 inches from the ironridge specs and that would give me a bit over 4 feet which would be satisfactory.
Anyone ever do this? The ironridge system calls for a 12 inch concrete post, I would change that to 16 inches.. the ironridge calls for 14 foot spacing, I would also reduce that to 10 foot. The iron ridge also does not require cross bracing (optional) and I would also install those.
They want $800 for the extra engineering and I think that's ridiculous just so they can tell me to use a larger pillar and decrease the spacing.
Opinions?
The problem I'm having is that the Ironridge ground mount system puts the low side of the panels only 30 inches above the ground.. I wouldn't even be able to safely mow the grass without worry of a rock hitting them.. then there's the issue of snow here in Michigan... scraping snow off the panels would build up a mound on the low side pretty quick.
So, the easiest remedy is to simply lift the mounting system up another 24 inches.. that would do it. My thought is to simply extend the concrete pillars up.. instead of them being finished off at ground level, I would use sonotubes to raise the pillars an extra 24 inches and add some rebar.. Add in the 30 inches from the ironridge specs and that would give me a bit over 4 feet which would be satisfactory.
Anyone ever do this? The ironridge system calls for a 12 inch concrete post, I would change that to 16 inches.. the ironridge calls for 14 foot spacing, I would also reduce that to 10 foot. The iron ridge also does not require cross bracing (optional) and I would also install those.
They want $800 for the extra engineering and I think that's ridiculous just so they can tell me to use a larger pillar and decrease the spacing.
Opinions?
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