Our gambrel-roofed summer cottage is in the woods on a northern (55ºN) island, so maximum height is required. The ridge runs N/S so a roof mount is out. I would like to mount our four Kyocera KD135GX panels atop of a steel pole anchored into the solid rock at the bottom and affixed to the end of the ridge pole at the top.
Maybe five feet of the steel pole would project above the roof's ridge line. Is this acceptable?
Comments
Borealbushman,
This sounds like a workable solution. My only concern is that at the end of the roof, and slightly above it, the array will be exposed to violent and unbalanced wind loads in a storm. To counteract these loads, I suggest a Top of Pole mount in conjunction with two struts running from the lower corners of the array to the barge rafters (or most outboard rafters) in order to brace and stabilize the array against twisting without affecting the roofing waterproofing layer.
Follow this link to a comprehensive article on IronRidge pole mounts.
I'm guessing that since you have a gambrel roof, this may be a two story structure. With about 20' of support pipe, you may need to add one more brace at the 2nd story (or attic) floor line.