초록 ▼

A racking system for photovoltaic solar panels greatly reduces material, weight, labor and system profile as compared to previous mounting systems. Special pedestals are secured to a roof at far larger spacings and fewer number than required in previous systems. The pedestals are configured for effi

A racking system for photovoltaic solar panels greatly reduces material, weight, labor and system profile as compared to previous mounting systems. Special pedestals are secured to a roof at far larger spacings and fewer number than required in previous systems. The pedestals are configured for efficient and dependable flashing for waterproofing the roof. In assembly the extruded aluminum components are fitted together quickly with efficient and strong connections, with the photovoltaic panels retained in a compact array and fully supported along the length of each panel. The fittings provide for field adjustment of the height of the uprights, helping accommodate uneven roof surfaces, such as flat roofs.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A method for supporting a plurality of solar panels in a tilted-up array with a north side higher than a south side, in a way to minimize weight, cost, assembly time and number of components, comprising: on a building with an essentially flat roof, erecting a series of support legs each with a lo

1. A method for supporting a plurality of solar panels in a tilted-up array with a north side higher than a south side, in a way to minimize weight, cost, assembly time and number of components, comprising: on a building with an essentially flat roof, erecting a series of support legs each with a lower-end base secured to the roof, the legs being arranged in a grid pattern and positioned along main support lines of the grid, and the support legs being of progressively greater length from the south side of the grid to the north side of the grid to establish a tilted up aspect to the array, and the main support lines being at least about five feet apart,securing to upper ends of the legs a series of parallel inclined main joists, along the main joist lines, so that the main joists extend parallel to one another and in a generally north-south direction and inclined to face generally toward south, the main joists spanning from leg to leg and being unsupported between legs,securing on upper sides of the main joists a plurality of framing channel members extending laterally, the framing channel members being at predetermined spacings along the inclined main joists and perpendicular to the main joists, each framing channel member being integrally formed as a single piece and not formed by assembly, the framing channel members having rectangular, three-sided open channels formed by flanges of the framing channel members, the framing channel members being secured to the main joists by bottom flanges of the framing channel members below said open channel, the bottom flanges being in direct contact against the joists and secured to the joists without obstructing the open channels using clips, the clips being secured to each main joist with a nut-capturing channel formed by extrusion in the main joist, a nut being within the nut-capturing channel and a bolt being engaged through the clip and threadedly connected to the nut in the main joist,placing solar panels between parallel framing channel members such that laterally extending north and south edges of each panel are fitted into and engaged in open channels of framing channel members, the north and south edges of each solar panel being rectangular in shape, formed by an edge face and upper and lower panel surfaces adjacent and perpendicular to the edge face, the north and south edges being similarly and complementarily shaped to the open channels and substantially filling the height of the open channels of the framing channel members into which they are engaged, such that the north and south solar panel edges are in direct contact with and contained in the complementarily shaped open channels of the framing channel members, such that at least some framing channel members support two opposed solar panels at north and south sides of the framing channel member in back to back said open channels with only a single-wall solid web between the open channels, and such that the solar panels are fully supported and retained against uplift solely by the engagement in the open channels of the framing channel members at north and south ends of the panels,and with framing channel members being of length to support the edges of more than one solar panel at aligned north and south panel edges so that uninterrupted framing channel members act as structural beams across spans of support between main joists. 2. The method of claim 1, further including flashing each support leg at the roof for weatherproofing. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the base at the lower end of each support leg is part of a pedestal, the pedestal having an upright portion extending up from the base, the upright portion having a vertically slotted upper end, and wherein the support leg is H-shaped in cross section including a central web and two flanges, and including assembling the leg to the pedestal by fitting the central web of the leg into the slotted upper end of the upright pedestal. 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the base at the lower end of each support leg is part of a pedestal having an upright portion that includes a cylindrical portion secured to the base, and wherein the step of flashing each support leg includes applying cone-shaped flashing on said cylindrical portion after installing the base, for roof weatherproofing. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the main joists each comprise an extruded box beam having nut-capturing channels for receiving nuts, for securing the support legs and the framing channel members to the main joists. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the array of panels is of greater lateral length than the length of a framing channel member, so that joints occur in lines of the framing channel members, with the joints located at main joist lines, and including securing adjacent ends of each of two framing channel members at each said joint to a main joist below. 7. The method of claim 1, further including attaching angle bracing to the legs of the tilted-up array for stability of the tilted-up array. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the main support lines are set at least eight feet apart. 9. A tilted-up array of solar panels produced in accordance with the method of claim 1. 10. A racking system supporting a plurality of solar panels in a tilted-up array with a north side higher than a south side, the system minimizing weight, cost, assembly time and number of components, comprising: a series of support legs each with a lower-end base secured to the roof of a building, the legs being arranged in a grid pattern and positioned along main support lines of the grid, and the support legs being of progressively greater length from the south side of the grid to the north side of the grid to establish a tilted up aspect to the array, and the main support lines being at least about five feet apart,a series of parallel inclined main joists secured to upper ends of the legs, along the main joist lines, the main joists extending parallel to one another and in a generally north-south direction and inclined to face generally toward south, the main joists spanning from leg to leg and being unsupported between legs,a plurality of framing channel members secured to upper sides of the main joists and extending laterally, the framing channel members being at predetermined spacings along the inclined main joists and perpendicular to the main joists, each framing channel member being integrally formed as a single piece and not formed by assembly, the framing channel members having rectangular, three-sided open channels formed by flanges of the framing channel members, the framing channel members being secured to the main joists by bottom flanges of the framing channel members, the bottom flanges being in direct contact against the joists and secured to the joists without obstructing the open channels by clips secured to each main joist with a nut-capturing channel formed by extrusion in the main joist, a nut being within the nut-capturing channel and a bolt being engaged through the clip and threadedly connected to the nut in the main joist,solar panels positioned between parallel framing channel members such that laterally extending north and south edges of each panel are fitted into and engaged in open channels of framing channel members, the north and south edges of each solar panel being rectangular in shape, formed by an edge face and upper and lower panel surfaces perpendicular to the edge face, the north and south edges being similarly and complementarily shaped to the open channels of the framing channel members into which they are engaged, such that the north and south solar panel edges are in direct contact with and contained in the complementarily shaped open channels of the framing channel members, such that at least some framing channel members support two opposed solar panels at north and south sides of the framing channel member in back to back said open channels with only a single-wall solid web between the open channels, and such that the solar panels are fully supported and retained against uplift solely by the engagement in the open channels of the framing channel members at north and south ends of the panels,and with framing channel members being of length to support the edges of more than one solar panel at aligned north and south panel edges so that uninterrupted framing channel members act as structural beams across spans of support between main joists. 11. The racking system of claim 10, wherein the base at the lower end of each support leg is part of a pedestal, the pedestal having an upright portion extending up from the base, the upright portion having a vertically slotted upper end, and wherein the support leg comprises a main portion H-shaped in cross section including a central web and two flanges, the leg being connected to the pedestal with the central web of the leg fitted into the slotted upper end of the upright pedestal. 12. The racking system of claim 11, wherein the upright portion of the pedestal includes a lower cylindrical portion just below the slotted upper end, the lower cylindrical portion being secured to the base, and including cone-shaped flashing on said lower cylindrical portion for roof weatherproofing. 13. The racking system of claim 10, wherein the main joists each comprise an extruded box beam having nut-capturing channels for receiving nuts, for securing the support legs and the framing channel members to the main joists. 14. The racking system of claim 10, wherein the array of panels is of greater lateral length than the length of a framing channel member, so that joints occur in lines of the framing channel members, with the joints located at main joist lines, and adjacent ends of each of two framing channel members at each said joint being secured to a main joist below. 15. The racking system of claim 10, further including angle bracing attached to the legs of the tilted-up array to provide stability of the tilted-up array. 16. The racking system of claim 10, wherein the main support lines are at least eight feet apart. 17. A racking system supporting photovoltaic solar panels in a tilted-up array with a north side higher than a south side, the system minimizing weight, cost, assembly time, system profile and number of components, comprising: an essentially planar structural framework, tilted up at an acute angle to horizontal so as to generally face toward south,an array of rectangular photovoltaic solar panels, the panels being arranged with edges side by side, the solar panels being secured into, supported by and retained in place by the structural framework, anda series of downwardly extending support legs secured to the structural framework, the legs being spaced apart in the generally east-west direction at least about five feet,the structural framework being formed entirely of (a) framing channel members extending laterally and having open channels within which north and south edges of the panels are received, each framing channel member being integrally formed as a single piece and not formed by assembly, the open channels of the framing channel members being rectangular, three-sided open channels formed by flanges of the framing channel members, with individual channel members extending along the edges of more than one of the side-by-side panels so as to act as structural beams supporting multiple panels across a span, the north and south edges of each solar panel being rectangular in shape, formed by an edge face and upper and lower panel surfaces perpendicular to the edge face, the north and south edges being similarly and complementarily shaped to the open channels of the framing channel members into which they are engaged and substantially filling the height of the open channels, such that the north and south solar panel edges are in direct contact with and contained in the complementarily shaped open channels of the framing channel members, and such that the solar panels are fully supported and retained against uplift solely by the engagement in the open channels of the framing channel members at north and south ends of the panels, the panels and framing channel members defining essentially a first, upper plane, and (b) inclined main joists beneath, supporting and secured to the framing channel members, in direct contact with the framing channel members, the main joists being along main support lines and extending parallel to one another and in a generally in a north-south direction and inclined to face generally toward south, the main joists spanning from leg to leg and being unsupported between legs, the main joists defining essentially a second, lower plane,said support legs having upper ends secured to the main joists along the main support lines, supporting the structural framework, andangle bracing attached to support legs of the racking system to provide stability of the racking system. 18. The racking system of claim 17, wherein the main support lines are at least eight feet apart. 19. The racking system of claim 17, wherein the legs include an upright and a pedestal connected to the upright, and with field adjustability means for adjustable connection of the pedestal to the upright to provide a desired leg length.