roof rack above air conditioner shroud

[pianotuna]

Hi,

My plan is to populate the entire roof with solar panels. I want 2 inches of clearance, so I'll need some sort of "stand off".

What method would you use to support such a rack?

How would you fasten it to the roof/RV?

To keep weight down I'm going to use aluminum.

[Ed_Gee]

Unfortunately that picture is all I could see. Welded aluminum mostly....hinged to lift for AC service. I only assume flange feet standard screwed to fiberglass roof.

[MrWizard]

Uni-strut bolted to upright supports, fastened at roof wall junction ?

[pianotuna]

Hi Ed,

Thanks for the picture.

[Ed_Gee]

This guy did a nice job of it.....looked good up close - hope the picture does it justice....best shot I could take. That's an all aluminum frame he had built for his 1200 Watts of panels.

[westend]

How high is the top of the airconditioner shroud? They do make racking systems for residential solar module installation. You might wish to reference that for ideas.

I don't have roof mounted A/C but from what I've seen, it may be easier to rack a module above the A/C and leave the rest at near-roof level. If that creates too much shadow, it may be easier to forgo that module.

You may have wishes to get the most possible up there and a full rack serves that purpose. A good fabricator could make such a rack but it won't be cheap. It may be that a combination of fabrication and available mfg. pieces makes the project cheaper.

[CA_Traveler]

pianotuna wrote:
I'm planning on a wind deflector at the front of the roof.

That is unnecessary and should cause additional lifting due to increased air flow over the top. My 3 panels are 6" high and parallel to the roof front to back with a 4 degree side slope. No deflector and never a driving or high wind problem.

Vertical angled aluminum attached to angled aluminum on the roof will secure then panels. I saw a nice installation using used 2" square screened porch aluminum to secure the panels.

[j-d]

Doug, as always, Speaks the Truth! Our A/C as drawing high amps and shutting down when our temp got to 100* with high humidity. I found out, through Chris Bryant, that the shroud, complemented by baffles at the edges of the condenser coil, keeps hot discharge air out of the intake side of the coil.

[dougrainer]

1. The AC shroud is usually needed to route air thru the Condensor.
2. I would be concerned about getting fresh air IN and OUT of the condenser if you have a solid platform 2 inches above the AC unit. I would worry about overheating the AC system. Doug

[pianotuna]

Hi Gjac,

I'm planning on a wind deflector at the front of the roof.

The rack is to be from the front to the back of the RV and the full width of the RV. It will be a fixed installation with an angle of 5 degrees to allow for drainage of the panels.

[Gjac]

Wow Don you are always thinking. The main concern would be air getting under that 2 in space above the AC shroud. So some how that space has to be blocked off. I think I would try to build a structural secondary shroud out of FG epoxy and use the existing attach hole to your existing shroud. You can also make it from 1/8 Al 7075 T6 or what ever structural Al you can find if you are not comfortable working with FG. I not sure you need the thermoplastic shroud that is up there now for the AC to function correctly maybe someone else can comment on that. But if it is not needed you can get a few more attach points with this new one to the AC structure underneath.