Hey Bill - In 1996-97? I did a project for CDOT on Red Mtn #3 @ 13,200" el. Dry Rocky Mtn snow.
We bolted the top of the array to the eve of the very small block building with a welded framework to hold the [16] 75-watt {The biggies back then} . As I recall we installed the modules at winter latitude plus 10 deg and never had an issue somewhere around 58-60 degrees. Avalanches start at 32 deg+/- so any movement should & did slide just fine. We installed 13,200# of AGM [30 days of battery backup] and a SWWP air wind generator, that lost its blades before the next spring, the anemometer lost its cups at 200+MPH as the jet stream touched down at least once. Who would have figured that one? There was an LPG backup heater for the building, but it was not working by spring [High winds? probably]. I have lost track of the project as state communication managers changed & contact was not reestablished. Overbuild, keep it simple, design for middle of the winter. Back then we used relay style charge controllers, the previous system had blown up all the previous CCs. I allowed for 50% head room and we never lost another controller or fuse. We were seeing over 45-50% additional gain at 13,200' elevation. 75 watt modules were pushing 105-110 watts each. Kyocera LA 51? I think? 7000' would not be as extreme an enhancement. Edge of cloud effect?, 7,000' elevation +20%+/-, reflection off the snow 10-15%, & -30F look at the temp curve and still give it another 10% of room. Site visits in the winter @ these sites are slow all-day projects. Dana Orzel Great Solar Works, Inc. C - 208.721.7003 d...@solarwork.com Idaho Contractor - # 028765 Idaho PV # 028374 NABCEP # 051112-136 www.solarwork.biz "Responsible Technologies for Responsible People since 1988" Please consider the environment before printing this email. -----Original Message----- From: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org> On Behalf Of frenergy Sent: Saturday, December 01, 2018 10:28 AM To: re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Subject: [RE-wrenches] Vertical PVs for Comm site Sierra wrenches, My 30 years of installation has never included comm sites on mountain tops but I took the job..... I am proposing mounting PVs vertically towards the top of the south wall of a 2 story block building to avoid snow build-up. I assume a pole-mount would be next in line if we needed more sq ft of PV. However, even if vertical, will Sierra snow (its a special breed) still wind-pack on, stay for weeks, days, not at all? This site is on the Pacific crest at 7,000 ft. And then due to potential temps down to -30F, I assume a WELL insulated battery box (maybe even back-up heat?). It seems the best choice would be to use AGM/VRLA/Gel? Part my reason for looking for help is my customer's loads will only be 12 volt and wants to avoid the cost of an inverter. This seems a little risky not to have an inverter/charger for back-up. Appreciate the advice. Bill Feather River Solar Electric Bill Battagin, Owner 4291 Nelson St. Taylorsville, CA 95983 530.284.7849 CA Lic 874049 www.frenergy.net --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org