Ground Mounted Solar Structures

The idea behind ground mounting solar panels is precisely as simple as it sounds. You build a mounting structure on the ground and then place the solar racking on top of it, and the the solar panels fit on the racking.  A lot of roofs can't fit solar for various reasons. For example a lot of flat roofs are b broken up into smaller sections that are surrounded by a parapet or other edge that casts a shadow throughout the day. Consequently, there is no area suitable for solar.

However, there is an alternative. Many properties may have a suitable area where the solar can be mounted on the ground. And in many cases, these ground mounted system can cast shade onto a part of the house that is otherwise exposed to direct sunlight and winds up heating up the house.

West Wall

These images show the west wall of a house in Arizona at sundown. This wall gets heated throughout the day from all the direct exposure to the sun and puts a severe heat load on the AC of the house. The wall also has two levels of rock retaining walls. These walls are suitable for a foundation of several piers that can be a point where concrete can be poured for some steel risers to support the solar racking.

Shade Structure

The following images show a design for a shade structure which will case the wall in shade and provide a base for solar racking to be built and solar panels added to the racking.

Design of Shade Structure

The shade structure is designed to throw maximum shade on the west wall of the house. It has a minimum tilt angle of 10 degrees in a 3 by 13 configuration for a total of 39 panels.

This is an earlier design with a 5X8 panel configuration for an even 40 panels.

This produces approximate 15kw of power. This is well matched to many 15kw solar inverters, such as the SolArk.

There are also innumerable other designs for ground mounted system and shade structures from Pergolas and Car Ports.

Ground Mounting Systems from IronRidge at SunWatts