Ground-Mount Racking for Solar Installers
We supply solar installers with ground-mount racking that's engineered, not improvised. Everything is structural steel, hot dipped galvanised, and made to AS/NZS 1170.2, the wind loading standard, because a ground-mounted array is a sail standing in the open with nothing sheltering it. Kitset frames take 6, 12 or 14 panels from 3000W to 8000W per frame, use multiples of them get to whatever total wattage the job needs.
It also removes a compliance headache. In a rural zone a ground-mounted array has no size limit and needs no building consent when the siting rules are met: the frame attached by more than a single post, the top no more than 4 m high, at least 5 m from any residential building, public road, railway or legal boundary, and the site's design wind speed no more than 44 m/s, or the wind zone no greater than high wind zone. Outside rural zones, an array over 20 and up to 40 square metres is exempt only when it's designed or reviewed by a Chartered Professional Engineer, so tell us the zone before we quote. We quote ground-screw mounting packages specifically to keep the install inside the exemption, so you're not waiting on engineering reports and consents.
Footings are primarily ground screws rather than concrete: 0.8 m, 1.6 m and 2.2 m lengths with a 200 mm flange, plus 865 mm and 1400 mm beam screws and a 400 mm extension, all hot dipped galvanised to AS/NZS 1170.2. They go in fast, they come out again, and there's no concrete to wait on. Alternatively, you can pour concrete and Dynabolt, or pour the concrete with the fittings in it so it sets and the feet are set into the concrete. More answers in our Solar & MPPT FAQ and our Trade & commercial FAQ.
Common questions
Does ground-mount solar need building consent in NZ?
In most rural cases, no. Under the Schedule 1 exemption a rural ground-mounted array has no size limit and needs no consent if the frame is attached by more than a single post, the top is no more than 4 m high, it's at least 5 m from any residential building, public road, railway or legal boundary, and the design wind speed doesn't exceed 44 m/s (or the wind zone is no greater than high). Outside rural zones, a 20 to 40 square metre array is exempt only with design or review by a Chartered Professional Engineer.
Can you keep a large array inside the consent exemption?
That's how we quote them. Multiples of the 6, 12 and 14 panel frames on ground screws get you to the total wattage you need while each frame stays inside the rules, and we've quoted arrays of 56 panels, ~35kW, this way. Tell us the zone and the site and we'll lay it out to keep engineering reports and consents off the job where the rules allow it.
What wind loading is the racking made for?
It's made to AS/NZS 1170.2, the NZ wind actions standard. The consent exemption itself is capped at a design wind speed of 44 m/s, or a wind zone no greater than high wind zone, so on an exposed site tell us the wind zone before we quote and we'll confirm the frame and footing for it.
Ground screws or concrete footings?
Ground screws, and that's all we sell for it. They go in fast with no concrete to wait on, they come out again if the array moves, and the 2.2 m length gives more bonding strength with the earth on softer ground and are useful on uneven ground, so you use the longer ones if there's a depression, slope or a downhill section to keep the platform level. Concrete footings still have a place where a screw won't hold, but on most NZ sites the screw wins on time and cost. We can advise per site.
Do you supply installers in bulk?
Yes. We supply ground-mount racking to installers for single sites and repeat projects, and we'll talk pricing on volume. Contact us for pricing and lead times.