26 Oct Why MT Solar pole-mounted solar panels made sense
Buffalo Solar Solutions strives on providing every possible option to our customers when going solar—even when a unique requirement needs to be met to bring a customer’s vision to life.
Imagine a modern two-story home on one acre of land in the beautiful suburb of West Seneca, NY. Surrounded by wilderness, the roof of the home was 50% shaded, which made a rooftop solar array unfeasible. The next option was to find a location on their property for pole-mounted solar panels that would generate 100% of their energy usage annually. The customers, however, raised a big concern for this idea: would it hinder their ability to enjoy the nature and wildlife of their backyard?
It wasn’t the solar panels being on top of a pole that bothered them. Standard pole-mount solar panels give only about 3.5 feet of clearance between the bottom of an array and the ground. At that height, the array would act as a blind to the living room windows and block the scenery.
In spite of the difficult situation, they still wanted to go solar, so it was time for the engineering team to get creative Our in-house engineers worked hand-in-hand for two days with MT Solar and designed a system that met all of their needs. What was that solution? Two MT Solar pole-mounted solar panel arrays, each standing on a 21-foot tall steel pole. This pole height catered to the customer’s request to be able to enjoy the scenery in their backyard, while still fulfilling their solar energy needs.
The maximum height of the arrays is around 25 feet, and in a worst-case scenario they will have six feet of clearance between the bottom of the array and the ground. You’re probably wondering, “Isn’t the array on a pole at a fixed tilt?” MT Solar’s pole-mounted design is a single-axis tracking array—with their simple hand-crank tilt mechanism, even an elderly homeowner can adjust the tilt from 5 degrees to 90 degrees while standing comfortably on the ground.
The solar panels we used for this job are some of the newest models on the market coming from SolarWorld in 2016. Their SM 345W XL 72-cell solar panels are highly efficient and AMERICAN MADE. SolarWorld has been in business since 1975 and currently leads the solar industry in American manufacturing while supplying a 25-year guarantee for maximum performance in all their products.
When it comes to supplying our customers with their energy freedom, we strive to fulfill the needs of our customers, day in and day out—even if it means we work directly with the manufacturer to innovate the best solution.
“Buffalo Solar Solutions is the best solution for solar installations in WNY.”
—D. & A. Monti, West Seneca, NY
(Read the rest of this customer’s testimonial »)
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