Field Installation Manual for PV Ground-Ballasted Solar Array Using PowerField’s “PowerRack” Patented and Made in the USA October 2020
Welcome to PowerField! We sincerely hope you enjoy the many benefits that come from PowerField simple solution for installing solar energy. The purpose of this manual is to provide installation instructions to the field installer of a PowerField solar array when using our patented PowerRack. The “PowerRack” is a mounting system suitable for any size of PV ballasted solar arrays. Figure 1. PowerRack Figure 2.
A PowerField installation consists of the following general steps: 1. Permitting and Pre-Approvals 2. PowerField System Design and Engineering 3. Site Preparation (including clearing and leveling if needed / desired). 4. Material Staging, System Layout and Marking Each Row 5. Trenching and Conduit (if the design calls for underground cabling). 6. PowerRack Placement and Alignment 7. PowerRack Filling with Ballast 8. Solar Panel Installation on PowerRacks 9. Electrical Installation 10.
POWERFIELD INSTALLATION STEPS 1. Permitting and Pre-Approvals • Identify and obtain any permits and pre-approvals that may be required, such as: construction, electrical, environmental, and glare. 2. PowerField System Design and Engineering • • • Complete electrical design and equipment selection. Complete the wind loading analysis and calculate the ballast requirements. Using the results of the wind and ballast calculations complete the physical layout design of the array.
3. Site Preparation (including clearing and leveling if needed / desired). • • Clear site of surface rocks and debris. Smooth and level ground within rows either by moving native soil and rock or by adding and smoothing strips of gravel. Clearing and leveling the site is the most important step for ensuring smooth and troublefree mechanical installation of the racking and panels.
Figure 4. One panel supported by two PowerRacks No Ground Leveling is Required Figure 5.
4. Material Staging, System Layout and Marking Each Row • • At the site, ensure that you have all of the materials and that they are safely and orderly set to the side of where the installation will be. In the field, lay out and mark or stake on the ground where each row of panels will start and end. Use the array layout diagram generated for your site during the engineering phase. Using a true-north compass align the rows either east-west, or skewed to the azimuth angle shown in the layout diagram. 5.
6. PowerRack Placement and Alignment This step should be done for one row at a time. • • • • Mark a long surveyor’s tape measure with intervals the length of your particular solar panels. Mark the number of panels in a row, oriented end to end (landscape). o TIP: This is most easily done with two workers, one to pull and hold the tape across a panel while the other marks each panellength interval.
7. PowerRacks Filling with Ballast. Prior to installation you will have obtained an array ballasting chart prepared by your structural/civil engineer in accordance with the local permitting authority having jurisdiction over structural wind loading design. This chart will specify how many PowerRacks are to be installed, their location and the amount of fill material to be placed in each. Ballast can be any bulk material such as sand, pea gravel, crusher run, coarse gravel or soil.
8. Solar Panel Installation on PowerRacks The installation of solar PV panels on PowerRacks is designed to require no tools. PowerRacks are designed to hold solar PV panels using slots on the high side that receive the aluminum rail frame on the back side of the panel.
Close up of upper flanges and support tabs which together form the slot for receiving the panel frame rail flange. Figure 9.
Figures 10. and 11. Close ups of slot for sliding retainer clip. Figure 12. Worker resting panel on the PowerRack side rails ready to slide into place.
Figure 13. Worker lowering the panel onto the high side tabs. Figure 14. Panel resting on tabs ready to slide down to seat panel frame flanges in slots.
Figure 15. Worker pushing panel down into slots. Figure 16. Panel fully seated in the PowerRack high side slots.
Installing the PowerRack Retainer Clips Once the panel is properly in place on the PowerRack and frame flange fully seated in the high side slots, install the sliding retainer clips on the low side using the following steps. Step 1: Orient clip correctly. Step 2: Slide clip into slot under frame. Step 3: Push clip upward into panel. Step 4: Pull clip towards you. Figures 17 - 20. Installation sequence of the sliding retainer clips.
Installing the PowerRack Security Keys The final step of the mechanical installation is to insert the security as shown in the following photos. Figure 21. Security key ready to snap into place. Figure 22. Security key fully seated. 9. Electrical Installation WARNING!!: All electrical installation work should be conducted by qualified personnel, certified or otherwise approved by the appropriate national, state and/or local jurisdictional authorities.
installing or handling electrical equipment. PowerField is not responsible for the electrical installation and only contracts with certified electricians. The following instructions are provided only as general indications of the steps one would need to undertake to complete the solar array. • • • • • • • • If conduits were buried and stubbed off at ground level they should be uncovered and risers, weather heads, conduit boxes, pull boxes, combiner boxes and the like installed.
