ZeP solar mounting system is ingenious
rollandelliott
Solar Expert Posts: 834 ✭✭
http://www.zepsolar.com/products.html
Finally a company has realized out how dumb it is to frame the solar panels and then have to create a seperate racking system for the panels.
The zep system has the racking solution built INTO the solar panel frame.
I hope all solar panel manufacturers start making panels that have compatible frames.
Finally a company has realized out how dumb it is to frame the solar panels and then have to create a seperate racking system for the panels.
The zep system has the racking solution built INTO the solar panel frame.
I hope all solar panel manufacturers start making panels that have compatible frames.
Comments
Cool. No more brackets, although their flat-roof mounting system still seems to be complex.
The installation instructions simplify it. It's a ballasted installation with wind diffusers, which makes it look more complicated than the typical rail-and-lag-bolt systems. Considering the amount of pain that I went through with my roof penetrations, I'm intrigued by the ballasted approach.
Although I'm wary of the "snap-together" legs.
Maybe I'm paranoid, but I prefer bolts.
the ballasted system is only for flat roofs, which is mostly commercial property, not homes.
they have very good videos on their web site that explain the different systems they sell.
I like it a lot. sure makes a tile roof job pretty easy and looks good. I would think the example standoffs would need to be taller to allow for air flow under the array however.
Hopefully this won't be a Solyndra deal where the cool technology is so expensive it can't compete.
So far there are very few module makers switching over to the ZEP frame and they are not very available. Let's see..... $1.28/w conventional module with my own trusted framing method, or $1.50/w for limited availability of a ZEP type module.. hmmm. This goes double for built in inverters.
you're right of course, but the concept is pretty new it just came out around a year ago. It's no more expensive than a standard frame to manufacture, so hopefully it catches on.
My guess is someone will come up with a competing similar framing system with totally incompatible parts and it will be vhs vs beta, blue ray vs HD disk, etc.
I looked at the links and I'm not impressed, looks like it was designed by mechanical engineers that don't understand the effects heat have on PV. The shrouds will trap the heat, very bad idea, aside from cosmetics, if offers no benfits
While Zepp is patented, its also being sold as TrinaMount, so at least one major manufacturer has adopted it. I haven't installed it myself so I cant speak to its ease or lack of. I agree however that using the frame of the module itself is a good idea though. We'll see in a year or 2 if it catches on, but competition in racking is pretty stiff.
"The shrouds will trap the heat, very bad idea, aside from cosmetics, if offers no benfits"
you're right, but I think if it is only installed on the bottom length it will look nicer and the other three sides will be opne for adequate heat dissapation.