Hi, all. I've been a member for a while but only got round to pulling the trigger on a solar setup now! 

My installer is my electrician who's worked for me for years. He's pretty competent and reliable and also cheaper than the guys I used before I discovered him. However, I don't think he's quite as seasoned when it comes to solar panels.
He did the inverter setup first, photo attached, and did a really pro job. I've been having a jol fiddling with HomeAssist and my Sunsynk inverter.
He's also done an enormous amount of corrective electrical work at our new house as the previous owners had some serious jippo stuff going on due to them having bypassed the prepaid meter and stealing from Eskom for who knows how long (this is in a very pricey neighbourhood in cape town, some people hey...).
I'm just prefacing with the context to avert the inevitable "that's why you should get the pro's" comments, etc.

So due to the shape of my roofs we could fit the most number of panels of this size (2.2m x 1m, 545W JA panels) if using a horizontal orientation. This was also the orientation that previous surveys and quotes had suggested.
As you can see in the photos the guys didn't change the orientation of the rails to vertical. And I didn't notice because I'm clueless about solar panels, I've never even touched one until the other day. I know about them on paper, and I understand how to size a system etc. but have no clue about installing them, my hands are too soft!

The issue we have now is the panels are not properly supported and are drooping. The photos will tell all so I won't describe the issue further.

I'm of the opinion that the rails should have been installed vertically, but even the suppliers (Herholdts) said they'd never seen it done that way.
Also, that would involve redoing a LOT of work and replacing some tiles.
Alternatively I think we should just add some shorter sections of vertical rails under the panels so that at least one long side of the aluminium frame is supported for most of the panels.

O and, no, the panels aren't pushed up against each other so tight that they're standing up at the edges, that's an optical illusion on the photo. They also aren't overlapping.

Any other ideas or input would be greatly appreciated!
 

 

 

I am not a specialist but here is my idea: install an aluminium support on the inside of each solar panel, right beneath the split line. It will have to be bolted to the panel frame and it shouldn't touch the panel. Where this support will rest on the existing rails, there will have to be some sort of padding to prevent noise in windy conditions.

I don't think the rails are allowed to be installed like that, when the panels are in landscape mode. And I'm not sure, if the warranty on the panels will be valid, if they are installed in an unsupported mode. I have exactly the same panels but I installed my rails vertically. I think, you are using Renusol rails and brackets and you will need a special 90deg piece in order to re-orient the rails:

 

https://www.solar-shop.co.za/renusol-mounting-systems/246-uk-m8-bracket-90.html

 

Here is the supported mounting methods from JA Solar installation manual:

 

Edited September 2, 20232 yr by PowerUser

14 hours ago, frivan said:

I am not a specialist but here is my idea: install an aluminium support on the inside of each solar panel, right beneath the split line. It will have to be bolted to the panel frame and it shouldn't touch the panel. Where this support will rest on the existing rails, there will have to be some sort of padding to prevent noise in windy conditions.

Also occurred to me, might just work but might also void the warranty? Is there a warranty on these things that we should care about? 

38 minutes ago, PowerUser said:

I don't think the rails are allowed to be installed like that, when the panels are in landscape mode. And I'm not sure, if the warranty on the panels will be valid, if they are installed in an unsupported mode. I have exactly the same panels but I installed my rails vertically. I think, you are using Renusol rails and brackets and you will need a special 90deg piece in order to re-orient the rails:

 

https://www.solar-shop.co.za/renusol-mounting-systems/246-uk-m8-bracket-90.html

 

Here is the supported mounting methods from JA Solar installation manual:

 

Ah thanks for that, didn't realise there is a manual. It appears from the mounting instructions that the panels can be mounted only on their short sides, the direction of the rails wouldn't matter as it's about the contact points with the panel which is the same as the bottom right illustration. The issue is just wind. I don't know how to compare cape town wind to the figures on that page but I'm fairly sure the panels will get rattled to bits in summer in their current configuration especially since they'll rattle against the rails instead of being able to flex backwards freely - which I suppose might be why the rail direction matters! 

@BobTheDinosaur here is the link for the full manual:

https://www.jasolar.com/uploadfile/2022/0218/20220218094931164.pdf

 

2 hours ago, BobTheDinosaur said:

Also occurred to me, might just work but might also void the warranty? Is there a warranty on these things that we should care about? 

Probably the warranty is already voided.

7 minutes ago, frivan said:

Probably the warranty is already voided.

Based on the manual these particular panels can be mounted on the short sides only. Wind pressure would be the deciding factor.

I checked now by hand and it took quite a lot of force to get the PV to touch the rail, it would have to be a storm that might damage the panels in other ways.

Regardless the drooping doesn't look good so after some discussion with the installers we're probably going with a vertical orientation instead.

Will post updates and solutions for the other sections that had to be kept horizontal for whoevers interested. 

This is how micro cracks start. 

 

I don't think the rails are allowed to be installed like that, when the panels are in landscape mode. And I'm not sure, if the warranty on the panels will be valid, if they are installed in an unsupported mode. I have exactly the same panels but I installed my rails vertically. I think, you are using Renusol rails and brackets and you will need a special 90deg piece in order to re-orient the rails:

 

https://www.solar-shop.co.za/renusol-mounting-systems/246-uk-m8-bracket-90.html

 

Here is the supported mounting methods from JA Solar installation manual:

 

I would say it depends on the panels. Jinko allow @BobTheDinosaur's type of installation : https://jinkosolar.eu/wp-content/uploads/Installation-Manual-Jinko-IEC-updated-version-2023.07.20.pdf