![]() Since our humble beginning, we’ve become leaders in the solar industry and are paving the way for renewables in Wisconsin. Arch Solar has been a fantastic partner in helping us realize this vision, and we are looking forward to more projects at our other locations.” Kevin Fogel, Bliffert Lumber & Hardware We are proud to invest in solar, a solution that is innovative and forward-looking in addition to saving costs, and hope we can inspire others in the industry and the community to follow our lead. “Bliffert has always been deeply committed to our local community’s quality of life, and we are excited to invest in a solar solution that benefits the health of our environment and our community. For anyone looking to reduce their own environmental footprint, choosing Bliffert Lumber is your go to hardware store or lumber yard.” Andrew Holmstrom, Arch Solar. Bliffert’s commitment to reduce their carbon footprint and set an example for the community has been a motivating journey. “Anyone in construction knows that reducing the environmental impact of the industry is a heavy burden to shoulder. The array (50.7kW-DC) will offset 54.67% of Bliffert’s electrical consumption with an estimated annual savings of $10,329 / 63,648 kWh produced by solar annually. With an installation occurring in the month of January, this is truly a winter-ready system. The custom racking system, design by TerraGen of Ontario, Canada will optimize winter production with low sun angles and snow-covered panels. The solar array consists of 114 Bifacial LONGi solar panels, 57 SolarEdge P960 optimizers, and a 43kW SolarEdge inverter. The first full month of solar energy production in March exceeded expectations with a calculated environmental benefit of 9,606.11lb CO2 Emission saved or the equivalent 72.58 trees planted.Īrch Solar designed a custom solar solution for the Wisconsin climate for Bliffert’s Riverwest location. MILWAUKEE – Ap– Bliffert Lumber & Hardware partnered with Arch Solar to install a solar array at its Chambers Street, Milwaukee location in January of 2022. ![]() Nova Scotia can have ferocious weather and after review of the other components of the racking system, we decided to stick to our TerraGen racking given its exceptional rigidity.Photo courtesy of Bliffert Lumber & Hardware. There are many markets where the alternative racking would be fine (Southern US or California, for example). However, the glass on solar panels can shatter if the panel is subject to twisting torque so even a relatively small displacement can be problematic. 7½’ of new snow is not a frequently occurring event even here in Nova Scotia, and with a regular roof attachment spacing of 4’ rather than 6’, the displacement would be significantly less. With loads right up to 196Kg, the TerraGen racking was still deflecting in a linear way, suggesting no loss of structural integrity, whereas the alternative racking was deflecting at an accelerating rate beyond 100Kg (about 7½’ of new snow). With a 103Kg load, the TerraGen racking gave a deflection of 1.1 cm compared to 2.3 cm for the alternative racking. We tested the racking we use, TerraGen, against an alternative supplier’s CSA-approved racking, and you can see the results in the chart below: Solar Racking Comparison Chart Normally, racking has supports 4’ apart rather than the 6’ apart in the test, giving much greater support and even greater load carrying capacity than we saw in this test. ![]() 196kg is equivalent to about 14½’ depth of new snow on the solar panel. Here’s a piece of TerraGen racking with attachments 6’ apart with a 196kg load! Terragen Racking under 196kg loadĮven under a 196kg load, the racking returned to its original position with no permanent deformation. This enables us to measure racking rigidity and whether it permanently deforms under load. The whole structure is supported on 2 saw horses. So how do we test our racking? We set up a test rig to check out the load bearing capacity of the racking we use, supplied by TerraGen Solar: Solar Racking Test RigĪ come-along is attached to a scale which in turn is chained to an off-centre cross beam that pulls down on the centre of the racking. This is only going to get worse as climate change progresses. ![]() You may hear about the different types of panels and inverter technology, whereas racking doesn’t get a lot of attention but here in Nova Scotia we get crazy winds and monstrous snow loads. We exhaustively test out hardware from alternative suppliers before we consider using it on your installation, because our systems are built to last. Below is a description of our solar racking test. This is something that makes us entirely different from other solar companies, especially here in Nova Scotia. At SKYLIT we talk a lot about the quality of our hardware – and we can be confident of its quality because we do our own testing.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |