McElroy Metal Manufacturing Facility, Clinton, Ill. Photo courtesy of McElroy Metal.
Metal roof attachment provider S-5! recently worked on a complex solar conversion project at a manufacturing facility in Clinton, Illinois. This large-scale, multi-faceted project at the McElroy Metal plant required a two-fold approach as the facility consisted of two different metal roof types: a face-attached trapezoidal profile on one section of the facility and a standing seam profile on another. The mission was to convert the roof to solar.
McElroy Metal is a leading manufacturer of metal roofing, metal siding and substructural components. This is the company’s third manufacturing facility to install a solar upgrade performed in conjunction with a roof recover and features a 390.6 kW solar panel system with five inverters designed for an annual output of 829,289 kWh. S-5! has been actively involved in each of the three projects.
S-5!’s engineering team collaborated with McElroy Metal to determine which clamps and brackets were most appropriate based on the two different roof types, their respective load capacities, resulting load distribution and best fit of mounting components. They analyzed roof-specific data and CAD drawings to determine precise attachment points across the massive solar array and to determine the bill of materials, including clamps, brackets and PVKITs.
The results
S-5-T Mini clamps and PVKIT 2.0 MidGrabs and EdgeGrabs mounted on a McElroy Metal 238T standing seam roofing system. Photo courtesy of McElroy Metal.
S-5-T Mini clamps were selected to attach the solar panels to the facility’s new 238T symmetrical standing seam roof system. Featuring a two-piece design to allow easy installation anywhere along the length of the panel seam, S-5-T Mini clamps are specifically designed to fit profiles with a “T” shaped seam configuration like the 238T. Beyond the “fit”, this clamp (in tandem with all S-5 attachment solutions) was specifically load tested on the 238T in the gauge used for the project, enabling comprehensive system engineering specific to this project. This process is routine for S-5 as their 500+ load test results are published and accessible on their website.
The solar installation on the facility’s existing Multi-Rib Panel roof system required S-5!’s RibBracket II, which are specifically designed to attach to this type of roof profile. The RibBrackets provided the best fit and more than enough tested-holding capacity for the dimensions of the rib.
In addition, the entire solar array was mounted using S-5!’s PVKIT 2.0 Solar Solutions, comprised of MidGrabs and EdgeGrabs, which enabled solar installers to mount the solar panels directly onto the clamps and brackets. The PVKITs pre-assembled components reduced installation time and cost for PV mounting, eliminating the need for an elaborate rail system, while also providing better load distribution into the roof and substructure.
— Solar Builder magazine
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