People hit the street lamps in parking lots, too. We mitigated this by using a concrete base that goes up a few feet. They can hit it but the lamps are still fine.
Sure, but now you’re increasing the expense significantly. With an equal amount of money (the real limiing factor), all these extra concrete bases means fewer solar panels deployed.
That’s true but solar panels aren’t that heavy.
That doesn’t remove the cost and complexity of building the rigid structure. So again, if the overhead structure is needed, even few panels deployed for equal money.
Wind isn’t really that much of an issue due to the profile of the panels.
What?! The low profile makes it even worse for wind. They act as sail area catching the wind and pulling against their mounts.
You can say that about almost anything.
You can’t say that about ground mount solar, which is the better alternative many times.
Solar panels are low voltage, around 40v. Electrocution risk is lower than with the street lamps.
A single solar panel may be 40v, but in commercial deployments like a parking lot, panels would be linked together electrically called “strings” and strings of solar panels regularly reach over 400v in residential installations. In commercial deployments strings are regularly carrying 600v to 1500v. This serious voltage just a couple of meters above people and cars.
What’s stopping them now?
The ground mount panels are in a separate place where people shouldn’t be. If someone is there that is not a worker, then its pretty clearly it could be a thief. That wouldn’t be the case of parking lot installations where regular people walking around the equipment would be a regular activity.
Not really - you just need a ladder.
I’m guessing you may not have a lot of experience with using a ladder in the workplace. There are all kinds of safety regulations in place to prevent workers from injury. This also means usually not carrying large/heavy items up the ladder and instead using a powered scissor lift. So not only would there be this extra equipment requirement to maintaining the parking lot solar cover, but you’d have to work around the cars and pedestrians using the parking lot too. All of this increases expense, which leads to fewer panels deployed for equal money. None of those things would be needed on ground mount solar in a separate field.
The only time that parking covered solar would make sense is if you’re already space constrained or if you have a separate requirement to cover the parking lot already.
These are all great and ty for writing it up! I just want to pile on about this point:
What’s stopping them now? There’s lots of copper in the street lamps and various equipment at a store. The answer is that the copper isn’t easy to access. It would take someone way too much time to get any substantial amount of copper from the wires so long as the run back is protected. They would need to rip apart each panel to get to it.
Nothing is stopping them now. Wire theft is a huge problem and mitigation of the risk is a constraint on any commercial electrical installation. It’s so pervasive that street lamps dont use copper wire anymore; they mostly use aluminum wires, so that people don’t have as much of a reason to lop them over and loot the wiring (they do one, discover it’s not copper and then skedaddle instead of doing the whole row). People absolutely can and do steal wiring, all the time (meth makes you so productive)
Restricted access is the only real way we have to deal with this (besides keeping lines energized - yes, horrifyingly that’s a very common technique). A couple cameras and a few hundred a month to a monitoring service to keep an eye out for anyone inside the fence is kinda the only option. l-ion angle grinders man, they’re a problem.
An aside: Carport solar exists, which is basically what people mean when discussing this topic. Unfortunately it’s more or less greenwashing. They do technically work but I haven’t seen one yet that wasn’t severely limited in functionality due to the site and stylistic requirements. They’re no “Solar Freakin Roadways” or anything, but they’re not nearly as useful as the marketing hype would have you believe. They’re large, extremely rigid structures that require drainage accommodation and are very prone to damage due to the nature of the location.
Sure, but now you’re increasing the expense significantly. With an equal amount of money (the real limiing factor), all these extra concrete bases means fewer solar panels deployed.
That doesn’t remove the cost and complexity of building the rigid structure. So again, if the overhead structure is needed, even few panels deployed for equal money.
What?! The low profile makes it even worse for wind. They act as sail area catching the wind and pulling against their mounts.
You can’t say that about ground mount solar, which is the better alternative many times.
A single solar panel may be 40v, but in commercial deployments like a parking lot, panels would be linked together electrically called “strings” and strings of solar panels regularly reach over 400v in residential installations. In commercial deployments strings are regularly carrying 600v to 1500v. This serious voltage just a couple of meters above people and cars.
The ground mount panels are in a separate place where people shouldn’t be. If someone is there that is not a worker, then its pretty clearly it could be a thief. That wouldn’t be the case of parking lot installations where regular people walking around the equipment would be a regular activity.
I’m guessing you may not have a lot of experience with using a ladder in the workplace. There are all kinds of safety regulations in place to prevent workers from injury. This also means usually not carrying large/heavy items up the ladder and instead using a powered scissor lift. So not only would there be this extra equipment requirement to maintaining the parking lot solar cover, but you’d have to work around the cars and pedestrians using the parking lot too. All of this increases expense, which leads to fewer panels deployed for equal money. None of those things would be needed on ground mount solar in a separate field.
The only time that parking covered solar would make sense is if you’re already space constrained or if you have a separate requirement to cover the parking lot already.
These are all great and ty for writing it up! I just want to pile on about this point:
Nothing is stopping them now. Wire theft is a huge problem and mitigation of the risk is a constraint on any commercial electrical installation. It’s so pervasive that street lamps dont use copper wire anymore; they mostly use aluminum wires, so that people don’t have as much of a reason to lop them over and loot the wiring (they do one, discover it’s not copper and then skedaddle instead of doing the whole row). People absolutely can and do steal wiring, all the time (meth makes you so productive)
Restricted access is the only real way we have to deal with this (besides keeping lines energized - yes, horrifyingly that’s a very common technique). A couple cameras and a few hundred a month to a monitoring service to keep an eye out for anyone inside the fence is kinda the only option. l-ion angle grinders man, they’re a problem.
An aside: Carport solar exists, which is basically what people mean when discussing this topic. Unfortunately it’s more or less greenwashing. They do technically work but I haven’t seen one yet that wasn’t severely limited in functionality due to the site and stylistic requirements. They’re no “Solar Freakin Roadways” or anything, but they’re not nearly as useful as the marketing hype would have you believe. They’re large, extremely rigid structures that require drainage accommodation and are very prone to damage due to the nature of the location.