PVKIT 2.0 Solar Manual

SOLAR MANUAL: PVKIT™ 2.0 SOLAR MANUAL: PVKIT™ 2.0

S-5!

The metal roof panels are attached to the building via concealed roof clips within the metal roof’s seam areas. Acceptable

clamping locations for the S-5! Mini clamps are dependent on the type of roof clip used. Once the brand of metal roof

system is determined, the roof clip is implied. Use the installer, manufacturer, and/or materials invoice to conrm

specications and tment.

1.4.2.2 S-5! Clamp Spacing Considerations

The key to frequency and spacing of attachment points for PV is to distribute loads to the metal standing seam panels in a

manner that is consistent with the intended distribution of loads from the roof panels into the building structure. Often the

“weak link” is not the S-5! clamp, but the standing seam metal roof clips that hold the metal panels to the building structure,

or the beam strength of the roof panel seam itself. Load capacities of all the S-5! clamps have been tested and are

published on the S-5! website: www.S-5.com. Here you will nd testing values that are specic to the standing seam roof

manufacturer, standing seam type, material type/thickness, and load orientation.

Standing seam metal roof panel attachment to a building structure is accomplished with clips hidden within the seams. The

most conservative method to distribute the load into the roof panels is to determine the frequency of the roof’s attachment

to the structure, and then duplicate or exceed it with the attachment of the PV components to the roof. Determining panel

attachment spacing in one axis is very simple: Standing seam panels’ attachment will be made using concealed hold-down

clips within the seam area of the panel. So, in that axis, the clip spacing is the same as the seam spacing. The location of

the clips along the seam (in the other axis) can be determined by the following: a) consultation with the roof system

manufacturer or installer; b) checking from the underside; or c) close examination from the topside along the seam. There

will usually be a slight, but detectable, deformation of the seam at the clip location visible from the roof’s topside. Many

standing seam roong systems are installed on “pre-engineered steel” buildings. The attachment spacing in that industry is

typically 5′-0″ and is observed by inspecting the structural purlins to which the panel clips are attached from the roof

underside (i.e. the interior of the building).

If the panel clips are spaced, for instance, 5′-0″ on center along the seam, then use the 5′-0″ dimension as a maximum

spacing for the S-5! clamps. (S-5! clamps may also be spaced at closer centers, but not wider.) When modules are direct

attached (without racking) in the landscape orientation, this spacing dimension is dictated by the smallest dimension of the

PV frame. Using the roof panel clip spacing as a maximum spacing template for S-5! clamps is sound practice, whether

the PV modules are direct-attached or attached to a racking system, which is in turn attached to the S-5! clamp (and to the

panel seams). To evenly distribute loads, it is also necessary that each seam be included in the nished assembly. Thus,

every time a seam is traversed, it should be attached. Such an attachment scheme should evenly distribute wind loads into

the building structure through the panels and their attachment, as was intended in the original roof construction assembly.

“Skipping” seams with clamp attachment is also frequently done and may also be acceptable, but only when approved by a

design professional.

Note: Wind dynamics are complex, and S-5! advises review by a qualied licensed professional who understands wind

effects and metal roof design and construction.