I am excited to share my most recent solar install. I really love
working with these clients—their home is a museum of art collections and
designs, and both the exterior and interior of the house are architectural
beauties.
This project included connecting a 40-panel solar system to the
grid. Because the roof is flat, we used the SunModo racking system, which is specialized
in custom systems for flat roofs (www.sunmodo.com). It has several other
advantages as well:
1.
SunModo is all aluminum,
which makes it very lightweight, so there’s less stress on the roof, but still thick
and burly enough to support 40 panels.
2.
Because of its angle arms,
this is an excellent system to use in areas with high winds and ocean breezes. (This
product is tremendously popular in Hawaii, where it is subjected to salt breezes
and tropical storms.)
3.
The racking system is
designed to level and plumb itself easily.
From a professional point of view it was great working with this
system. It is light, dependable, easy to install, and very cutting edge.
This install required structural mounting to the roof, which
meant we had to work in close cooperation with the roofer. We set him up for
success by making all our holes on the roof small, clean, neat, and tidy. Our
roofer, Reed Roofing (www.reedroofingca.com), was
helpful in waterproofing our penetrations using Gaco foam and silicone in 54
E-curbs (www.chemlink.com/e-curb).
An
important tip for solar installers, roofers, plumbers, or electricians, working
on flat roofs: When the existing roof has a silicone layer, you must be careful
not to use the E-curb POLY filler. The
POLY in the E-curb kit will melt your silicone roof layer and instead of
sealing it, will cause it to leak.
It was a little nerve-wracking to do this install in the middle
of the rainy season, but because we used the SunModo racking system, and were
able to work closely with Reed Roofing, the panels were up in less than a week.
The rooftop now blends beautifully with the serene mountain views of this
stunning Carpinteria home.
We had a blast from the beginning to the end on this job. For more information about solar panel installation please go to our website http://www.korling.net/solar.html
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