I have heard this too, no solar involved. Chris
On 3/5/2025 12:05 PM, Tyrone Houck via RE-wrenches wrote:
Screw down metal roofs are notorious for expansion/contraction
issues...especially over long horizontal spans. It's possible that the
array is actually fixing that section in place better than the rest of
the roof(while simultaneously keeping that part of the roof cooler) .
I would investigate the roof area adjacent to the array as it's likely
to be heating up much faster than the area shaded by the array. Could
be the sound of screws popping..
Best of luck!
Tyrone Houck
Oregon Solarworks LLC
CCB #204937 LRT #076
541-787-1366
[email protected]
On Wed, Mar 5, 2025, 8:48 AM Jason Szumlanski via RE-wrenches
<[email protected]> wrote:
They report that it is definitely coming from the roof and from
opposite ends of the array. It's pretty random, but only earlier
in the day and later in the day, which suggests the array and roof
are heating and cooling. I don't believe it is electrical.
But it is interesting that you mention siding. Just before we
installed solar panels, they had their house re-sided with hardy
board siding. I suggested that maybe it was coming from the siding
on the gable ends, but of course, they insisted that it only
started when the solar panels were installed. I did find a piece
of siding that was pressed up tight against a drip edge, and I
found that to be a possible source. Without being there on the
roof as it happens, it's hard to diagnose. They are reporting 1-2
dozen pops a day that they can hear clearly. I don't doubt that,
but I question whether it is directly related to the solar panel
installation.
For more context, they also reported something that sounded like
banging in high winds, like a solar panel was loose. All of the
panels were later found to be completely secure. I found a piece
of aluminum soffit cover that was loose and could have been
flopping around, but again, it's hard to tell when you are not there.
They are wrapping themselves all around the axle, probably
thinking that we did something wrong. They even called S-5 behind
our backs to see if the manufacturer could throw us under the bus.
That turned out to be a fun discussion because S-5 suggested
the them that adding more seam clamps might help. Of course,
SolarFoot is not a seam clamp at all, which further confused the
owner.
Jason Szumlanski
Principal Solar Designer | Florida Solar Design Group
NABCEP Certified Solar Professional (PVIP)
Florida State Certified Solar Contractor CVC56956
Florida Certified Electrical Contractor EC13013208
On Wed, Mar 5, 2025 at 8:51 AM Dave Tedeyan via RE-wrenches
<[email protected]> wrote:
Jason,
You mentioning popping sounds reminds me of two separate
systems that I was called in to service recently where the
homeowner was reporting popping sounds. These were coming from
the ground, not the roof, so it may not apply. Both systems
were roughly 10 years old, and the original installer used PVC
conduit off the roof. Water had been getting into the conduit
and running down to the combiner (Enphase system). Things were
quite corroded in the combiner panels and the sounds were
coming from a failing breaker. It sounds like your system is
newer, but maybe there is a bad breaker? In one case the
customer was certain the noise was coming from the meter, but
upon inspection I am nearly certain it was the combiner
instead. These were more of an "electronic" popping noise
though. If your popping noise is more structural have the
customer listen out to see if it happens right when the sun
comes out from a cloud, or goes behind a cloud. With vinyl
siding or metal roofs, I'll sometimes hear the expansion and
contraction but it has to be a very quick change in
temperature and I only hear it on those quick transitions from
sun to clouds.
Good luck tracking it down!
Cheers,
Dave
On Wed, Mar 5, 2025 at 8:12 AM Jason Szumlanski via
RE-wrenches <[email protected]> wrote:
I had a person contact me years ago who said her solar
installer put a system up that caused popping noises
everyday on her roof. It was a shingle roof, older home,
and ultimately we chalked it up to expansion and
contraction. Everything was secure and there were no
indications of structural, cosmetic, or waterproof
integrity being jeopardized.
That was my only experience with this issue until we did a
recent installation on a 5V exposed fastener metal roof
using S-5 SolarFoot mounts attached through the metal into
the plywood decking only. This new client is reporting
numerous loud popping sounds every day. Based on the time
of day and weather, it must have something to do with
expansion and contraction, but we cannot pinpoint the
problem. Of course, the day we go to try to duplicate the
issue, there were no sounds at all that we could detect up
on the roof after waiting hours in observation.
We did have one row of 13 panels mounted in portrait that
was on the longer side, so we decided to split the rail by
putting a gap in the middle. That, apparently, has not
solved the issue.
We have checked the torque on every single fastener in the
system. This installation is no different than many many
others we have done using the same materials on the same
roof type.
Has anybody experienced similar issues, and how did you go
about addressing them?
Jason Szumlanski
Florida Solar Design Group
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