Ground-Mounted Solar Panels
A popular installation approach is ground-mounted solar panels. In situations where you have some ground area to work with (free of shade), and when you want the array off your roof, consider a ground mounted solar option.
About 30% of our solar installations for farms and homes are ground-mounted. Tick Tock Energy has installed some of the largest residential ground-mounted solar arrays in Illinois for homes with large electric bills.
Ground-mounted solar considerations are economical installations and eliminate the need for rooftop work. Open frame structures allow greater ventilation of the panels, improving electrical efficiency of the solar array since solar cell efficiency drops under hot summer temperatures.
Other things to consider for solar ground mounts are summarized below:
Array Configuration
Our typical ground mount solar installation features are available in 3, 4 or 5 panels per column layout. Most installations today are 5 panels per column since that yields the lowest installed cost.
We also offer ground mount racking solutions that arrange the panels vertically, or in “portrait view”. These racks feature 2 panels per row and typically offer racks in 2×5 up to 2×9 configurations.
Rack Construction
A popular solar ground mount option is an engineered 2” galvanized steel pipe rack secured to the earth via concrete foundations. After the pipe frame is constructed, rails are fastened to the frame, then end and mid clamps secure the solar panels to the frame. A typical construction sequence is shown in the photos.
Tilt Angle
The typical ground mount array tilt angle is 25 to 35 degrees and lower tilt angles are possible. For smaller farm and residential ground mounted arrays, a fixed axis is most common and cost effective.
Inverter & Electrical Accessories
The rack structure forms an ideal support for mounting inverters, combiner boxes, electrical subpanels and related balance of system (BOS) components.
Array Physical Size
With the typical ground mount array featuring panels in landscape with the larger format 72 cell modules, each row of panels is approximately 76” wide, or about 6-foot, 6-inches. With 5 panels per row, the rated capacity per row is usually over 1.2 kW (DC). A 10-column ground mount with 50 panels overall (5 panels per column) would be rated over 15 kW. The overall array from side-to-side is approximately 66 feet. The front to rear of the array is about 16 feet.
Interested in learning more about solar ground mounts? Contact Tick Tock Energy today to speak with an expert.