Choosing Ground Mounted Solar Over Rooftops: A Necessity or Amenity?
Those who wish to go solar and satiate their energy requirements see their rooftops as a great source of power generation. But what if the rooftop has limitations with respect to your power requirements. The next best option is to go for ground mounted solar. Even if the rooftop is conducive for power generation, asset owners may choose to go for ground mounted solar, additionally or separately altogether. Going solar is not that difficult; the decision to choose between ground-mounted and roof-mounted panels may sometimes become perplexing. If you have made your mind to go solar, these two are the best options. Viability is an aspect that must be foremost in your mind playing an important role in decision-making. So, as an asset owner, it is in your best interests to perform a feasibility and viability analysis before coming to a conclusion.
Ground Mounted versus Rooftop
No doubt Roof mounted systems are very popular and one is liable to picture fancy rectangles decorating the rooftop when the discourse turns to solar power generation. However, to maximize your return on investment and gather maximum power, along with the advantage of not needing to reorient your roof, ground-mounted solar systems can prove to be more acceptable.
There are cases when the rooftop of your asset restricts the installation of solar panels. In such cases, it is better to remain grounded. And a thorough analysis of you asset by your EPC partner may suggest ground mounted system as a viable option. This is a necessity with respect to your solar power generation requirement. Apart from this, you may have the facility to install rooftop solar systems, and still you may consider opting ground mounted systems. This can be termed as amenity on your part.
Nevertheless, Ground mounted systems provide all the advantages that rooftop solar systems can offer in terms of power generation. Additionally, ground mounted systems are more easily scalable with respect to your premises. They capture maximum sunlight throughout the day in all seasons by leveraging the manual tilts and efficient tracking systems. These indeed can be viewed as the USP of the ground mounted systems.
Why Choose Ground Mounted Solar?
Say No to Rooftop Reorientation
Rooftop solar, undoubtedly, is more popular. Your premises, however, might not be suitable for installing them anyway. Because your rooftop may have the characteristics that would restrict you from installing solar PV panels on it. In that case, ground mounted panels will be cost-effective as compared to reorienting the roof and then installing rooftop PV panels. For rooftop solar to be effective, the roof of your asset needs to be set at the right angle to be productive, unobstructed by shade from any kind of object. Ground mounted panels are easy to set at the right angles. Since they can be set anywhere in the premises, they can capture maximum sunlight.
Size Doesn’t Matters
Do not be disappointed if your power consumption is high and your rooftop small. As long as you can exploit the free space on the ground of your premise, power generation can be easily achieved with ground mounted solar systems. They do not pose any such kind of restriction and are excellent solution to match your energy requirements.
Track Maximum Sunlight
With Ground mounted solar systems, you can install a sun tracking system that can maximize the sun exposure for the panels. This can significantly enhance solar power generation by tracking maximum sunlight all through the day. In addition, ground mounted solar systems employ a manual seasonal tilt adjustment system to further maximize the sun exposure of the panels to generate a higher amount of solar energy.
Ease with O & M Services
The fact that cleaning, repairing, replacing and maintaining something that is on the ground is much easier as compared to do the same by climbing the rooftop gives a great advantage to ground mounted systems. Ground mounted systems are easy to scale, and can be tweaked to receive maximum sunlight to produce higher amounts of energy.
Conclusion
Ground mounted solar systems are mostly suited for situations where a rooftop solution is not viable. Even if they are viable, by proper analysis of your requirements and your premises, ground mounted solar systems may be recommended over rooftops by your EPC partners. Ground mounted solar PV systems can gather high amounts of solar energy along with an ease of installation that can exempt EPC contractors of many installation workloads.
