Unless you can prove that the racking was not installed according to mfgs. recommendations and instructions, there's probably not much you can do.
I've been railing (no pun intended) around here that "L" brackets have an inherent flaw in their design. That being a relatively long moment arm that can act as a lever to, in effect, multiply any wind induced vibration loading on the roof penetration at the roof fixation, and, in long or short order those induced forces will perhaps loosen the roof penetration. After that happens, it will only be a matter of time before the penetration becomes weaker with the vibration amplitude increasing and ultimately that increased panel vibration amplitude will cause the panels and racking to impact the roof, bang around, make noise and cause damage.
Perhaps what you're experiencing is what I described.
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High winds causing panels and rack to chatter
Hello,
My residential rooftop solar panel project has just been completed. A few weeks ago, we experienced wind gusts of about 45 mph a few times during the night. We were waken by loud noises coming from the roof which could only be my newly installed panels rattling around or chattering against the Spanish tiles.
The solar installer inspected the roof and determined that all racking was tight and secure. He also mentioned that what we heard was the panels being lifted by the wind due to the flexing in the 'L' bracket. Looking at a picture of the bracket, it seems more of a hook than an "L" to me. The hook appears to be attached to the metal plate, rises about 2 inches, then moves outward about 4 inches then up to attach to the panel (see attached picture).
In Southern California, we do get several wind events during the year. I suspect that over time, this bracket will fail and I suspect that my installer will not be around to fix it. My question is what recourse do I have, if any, to convince them to replace the mounting with a better less flexible product?
Thank you.
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