Wind loads on solar collectors and PV panels on roofs

Wind loads on solar collectors and PV panels on roofs Conference

Stathopoulos, T, Xypnitou, E, Zisis, I. (2013). Wind loads on solar collectors and PV panels on roofs . 1545-1554. 10.1061/9780784412848.136

The increased interest on renewable energy resources had a direct effect on the use of solar collectors and photovoltaics (PV) on residential and other structures. Current building codes and design standards offer little assistance to the designers regarding provisions for wind-induced loading. The scope of this paper is to address the wind-induced loads applied on particular rooftop energy structures. Findings from a study that was carried out in the boundary layer wind tunnel of Concordia University, Montreal are presented. For this study, a 1:200 geometric scale flat roof low-rise building was constructed and instrumented. The building model was equipped with three identical solar panels, which had six pressure taps on each surface. Several configurations were examined by changing the position of the panels on the roof as well as their inclination. The paper presents detailed results from the various configurations and discusses the effect of panel location and inclination. © 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.