Solar canopy system
A solar canopy has a solar panel assembly including a first solar panel coupled to a second solar panel and oriented non-parallel with respect to the second solar panel. The solar panel assembly has an effective solar-panel-assembly wind loading less than a sum of a first-solar-panel effective wind loading and a second-solar-panel effective wind loading determined individually. An actual load applied by the solar panel assembly to a solar-panel-assembly support structure coupled thereto when the solar panel assembly is subject to a wind loading is less than a design load for the solar panel assembly subject to the wind loading based on a sum of a first-solar-panel net pressure and a second-solar-panel net pressure determined independently.
1. A solar canopy comprising:
a solar panel assembly comprising:
a first solar panel having a total wind-exposed first-solar-panel surface area; and
a second solar panel having a total wind-exposed second-solar-panel surface area,
wherein the second solar panel is fixedly coupled to the first solar panel and wherein the total wind-exposed second-solar-panel surface area has a non-parallel orientation with respect to the total wind-exposed first-solar-panel surface area, and
a solar-panel-assembly support structure coupled to the solar panel assembly;
wherein a maximum load the solar-panel-assembly support structure is designed to support is a determined load applied to the solar-panel-assembly support structure by the solar panel assembly when the solar panel assembly is subject to a wind loading, the determined load obtained by simultaneously measuring a load at a plurality of taps embedded in a total wind exposed first exemplary solar panel surface area of a first exemplary solar panel and a total wind exposed second exemplary solar panel surface area of a second exemplary solar panel with the non-parallel orientation during a wind tunnel test; and
wherein the determined load is less than an aggregate load for the solar panel assembly subject to the wind loading, the aggregate load calculated by summing a standard first-solar-panel net pressure for the first solar panel and a standard second-solar-panel net pressure for the second solar panel, the standard first-solar-panel net pressure and the standard second-solar-panel net pressure determined independently.
2. The solar canopy of claim 1 , wherein the solar panel assembly has a third solar panel with a total wind-exposed third-solar-panel surface area, the third solar panel coupled to the second solar panel and having a non-parallel orientation with respect to the total wind-exposed second-solar-panel surface area.
3. The solar canopy of claim 2 , wherein the solar panel assembly is a rectilinear array of a plurality of solar panels including the first solar panel, the second solar panel and the third solar panel.
4. The solar canopy of claim 3 , wherein the rectilinear array comprises at least an adjacent six rows with three solar panels of the plurality of solar panels per row.
5. The solar canopy of claim 1 , wherein the first solar panel and the second solar panel are tilted at a tilt angle of about five degrees to about seven degrees from horizontal, the first solar panel being tilted in a counter clockwise direction and the second solar panel being tilted in a clockwise direction.
6. The solar canopy of claim 5 , wherein the solar panel assembly has a third solar panel with a total wind-exposed third-solar-panel surface area, the third solar panel coupled to the second solar panel and tilted parallel to the first solar panel.
7. The solar canopy of claim 5 , wherein the solar panel assembly has a third solar panel with a total wind-exposed third-solar-panel surface area, the third solar panel coupled to the second solar panel, oriented non-parallel with respect to the first solar panel and tilted in the counter clockwise direction at another tilt angle different than a tilt angle of the first solar panel.
8. The solar canopy of claim 1 , wherein the actual load applied to the solar-panel-assembly support structure is determined by a force coefficient GC P , a first moment coefficient GC MHy , and a second moment coefficient GC My defined by the following equations:
GC
P
=
F
normal
q
H
·
A
GC
MHy
=
M
top_of
_post
q
H
·
A
·
L
GC
My
=
M
grade
q
H
·
A
·
L
where,
F normal is a force normal to a top surface of the first solar panel or the second solar panel;
M top_of_post is a moment about a top of a post (center of a cross beam);
M grade is a moment about a bottom of the post;
q H is a velocity pressure at a height (H) of ≤4.5 m in an open terrain;
A is a averaging area (Number of panels multiplied by 2 m 2 ); and
L is a nominal chord length, and
wherein the force coefficient GC P , the first moment coefficient GC MHy , and the second moment coefficient GC My are calculated from wind tunnel pressure data obtained by simultaneously measuring a pressure at a plurality of pressure taps embedded in a surface of the first and second solar panels.
9. The solar canopy of claim 1 , wherein a plurality of purlins extend substantially vertically between a cross beam and the first-solar-panel and between the cross beam and the second-solar-panel and varying in length to achieve a desired tilt of the first and second solar panels.
10. A solar canopy comprising:
a solar panel assembly comprising:
a first solar panel having a first orientation; and
a second solar panel coupled to the first solar panel and having a second orientation that is non-parallel to the first orientation;
wherein the second solar panel is fixedly coupled to the first solar panel; and
a solar-panel-assembly support structure coupled to the solar panel assembly;
wherein a maximum load the solar-panel-assembly support structure is designed to support is a determined load applied to the solar-panel-assembly support structure by the solar panel assembly when the solar panel assembly is subject to a wind loading, the determined load obtained by simultaneously measuring a load at a plurality of taps embedded in a total wind exposed first exemplary solar panel surface area of a first exemplary solar panel and a total wind exposed second exemplary solar panel surface area of a second exemplary solar panel with the non-parallel orientation during a wind tunnel test; and
wherein the determined load is less than an aggregate load for the solar panel assembly subject to the wind loading, the aggregate load calculated by summing a standard first-solar-panel net pressure for the first solar panel and a standard second-solar-panel net pressure for the second solar panel, the standard first-solar-panel net pressure and the standard second-solar-panel net pressure determined independently.
11. The solar canopy of claim 10 , wherein the solar panel assembly has a third solar panel with a total wind-exposed third-solar-panel surface area, the third solar panel coupled to the second solar panel and having a non-parallel orientation with respect to the total wind-exposed second-solar-panel surface area.
12. The solar canopy of claim 11 , wherein the solar panel assembly is a rectilinear array of a plurality of solar panels including the first solar panel, the second solar panel and the third solar panel.
13. The solar canopy of claim 12 , wherein the rectilinear array comprises at least an adjacent six rows with three solar panels of the plurality of solar panels per row.
14. The solar canopy of claim 10 , wherein the first solar panel and the second solar panel are tilted at a tilt angle of about five degrees to about seven degrees from horizontal, the first solar panel being tilted in a counter clockwise direction and the second solar panel being tilted in a clockwise direction.
15. The solar canopy of claim 14 , wherein the solar panel assembly has a third solar panel with a total wind-exposed third-solar-panel surface area, the third solar panel coupled to the second solar panel and tilted parallel to the first solar panel.
16. The solar canopy of claim 14 , wherein the solar panel assembly has a third solar panel with a total wind-exposed third-solar-panel surface area, the third solar panel coupled to the second solar panel, oriented non-parallel with respect to the first solar panel and tilted in the counter clockwise direction at another tilt angle different than a tilt angle of the first solar panel.
17. The solar canopy of claim 10 , wherein the actual load applied to the solar-panel-assembly support structure is determined by a force coefficient GC P , a first moment coefficient GC MHy , and a second moment coefficient GC My defined by the following equations:
GC
P
=
F
normal
q
H
·
A
GC
MHy
=
M
top_of
_post
q
H
·
A
·
L
GC
My
=
M
grade
q
H
·
A
·
L
where,
F normal is a force normal to a top surface of the first solar panel or the second solar panel;
M top_of_post is a moment about a top of a post (center of a cross beam);
M grade is a moment about a bottom of the post;
q H is a velocity pressure at a height (H) of ≤4.5 m in an open terrain;
A is a averaging area (Number of panels multiplied by 2 m 2 ); and
L is a nominal chord length, and
wherein the force coefficient GC P , the first moment coefficient GC MHy , and the second moment coefficient GC My are calculated from wind tunnel pressure data obtained by simultaneously measuring a pressure at a plurality of pressure taps embedded in a surface of the first and second solar panels.
18. The solar canopy of claim 10 , wherein a plurality of purlins extend substantially vertically between a cross beam and the first-solar-panel and between the cross beam and the second-solar-panel and varying in length to achieve a desired tilt of the first and second solar panels.
19. The solar canopy of claim 1 , wherein the first-solar-panel net pressure and the second-solar-panel net pressure are determined by wind tunnel testing.
20. The solar canopy of claim 10 , wherein the first-solar-panel net pressure and the second-solar-panel net pressure are determined by wind tunnel testing.