Solar Ground Mounts
If you use a lot of electricity and have a little extra land, a solar ground mount is the way to go. One of the important issues when installing ground mounts is what is known in the industry as "flyaways". Basically, if you are going to install a ground mount system with a potential uplift of 50 lbs/sq.ft., you want to ensure that your expensive solar array doesn't leave the vicinity when the next Santa Ana wind comes along. We prefer using around 3 bags of concrete per hole and schedule 40 pipe.
We have seen installations that used smaller pipe with a wall thickness less than schedule 40. Over time, the thin walled pipe will relax due to thermal expansion and contraction. Once the pipe relaxes and the fitting hardware fails, the potential for a flyaway is very real. Corrosion may also be a problem with thin walled pipe. Remember that your installation needs to last at least 50 years to get the full value out of the solar array.
Once the pipe is installed, the anodized aluminum rails can be mounted with stainless steel hardware and the solar modules can be installed.
Remember to ask your contractor if the ground mount system they are installing has been engineered. Using thin walled fence posts on your array is a really bad idea.
