What are the different types of PV Racking Ground Mounts
Both residential and commercial projects can benefit from ground-mounted solar energy. But which one to choose? Solaracks will gives you the basics of some of the most popular ground solar installations available today.
Pile drive ground installation
Ground-mounted solar arrays range in size from small residential <10 kW arrays to large utility solutions of 1 MW and above. Within this range, there are many types of shelves to choose from to meet the needs of almost any venue and any project. The following is an overview of the available options.
Designers must conduct thorough on-site assessments, including geotechnical studies, before selecting a specific ground-mounted system. This will define design parameters that help reduce the risk during the construction phase and allow designers to choose the right ground mounting solution.
The ground mounted array is mounted on a grade of galvanized steel and/or aluminum support structure. The support structure is bound to the ground using a foundation consisting of a drive pile, a screw pile, a ground screw, a concrete foundation, a concrete ballast or a mixture of these components. The basic types used are based primarily on soil properties and the underlying geometry.
There are two basic types of basic geometry, single and double. The single-column foundation is the basis for a single-row foundation support architecture . The single row of columns are aligned along the length of the array toward the center of the front and rear array dimensions to the rear 3/4. Various rack configurations can be installed. The most common is that the cantilevered struts and brackets form a powerful backing, similar to the “four” contour. The module rails are mounted on a powerful backplane along the length of the array.
Single Column
In this configuration, the horizontal support spans the base of each row, creating the basis to which the module tracks are connected. The module rails will span the front and rear horizontal supports with a slight cantilever at each end. Depending on the environment and soil conditions, it may be necessary to support between each pair of front/rear foundations.
As mentioned earlier, common foundations include drive piles, screw piles, floor screws, concrete foundations, concrete ballasts or mixtures of these components. The following is a brief introduction to each one.
Drive piles are usually found in larger projects. The pile consists of galvanized steel I-beams, channel steel or columns. Use special heavy machinery to drive the pile into the ground. Appropriate soil conditions must be in place to drive the pile. These conditions include good soil cohesion, resulting in high pull-out strength and limited rejection.
The ground screw pile is a galvanized steel column in which the split disk is welded to the bottom at an angle to allow the base to move deeper as the column rotates and drives down. A lynx or other similar machine with a screw drive is used to mount these foundations. Sandy soil with low cohesion and high water level is ideal for screw piles.
As the name implies, the grounding screw is a large galvanized steel column with welded or machined threads. Similar to screw pile installation, the ground screw installation uses a Bobcat or other similar mechanical auger attachment to drive the ground screw to the ground. However, when there is rock or dense rejection, it is usually pre-drilled. Grounding screws are ideal when soil/ground conditions have large amounts of rock, ledges and/or rejection.
Poured concrete foundations are very common, especially in small ground installations. These foundations include a galvanized steel column in the form of concrete embedded in the ground. These foundations are more common for smaller projects because burrowing, aligning columns and handling concrete often require considerable labor.
The basis for flaws is the use of prefabricated or cast-in-place concrete ballasts to support the foundation of the shelf structure. These foundations are good candidates when there are a large number of rejections or lateral and vertical intensities (such as brown areas) where soil conditions are poor.
Finally, the ground support can be used as a prefabricated system or as a custom solution for extremely difficult terrain. Prefabricated solutions provide a simpler design process. China Solaracks have extensively tested and certified their prefabricated systems to meet specific standards.
What are the different types of ground mounting solar systems?
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