Martin Solar‘s newly manufactured Dual-Channel Solar Rail (DCSR) was recently installed on a 70-kWDC solar project, marking its first real-world application.
The Dual-Channel Solar Rail from Martin Solar.
“Management of PV wires and AC trunk cables is one of the most important aspects of rooftop PV installation. Anyone who has ever experienced running hundreds, thousands of feet of conductors on a rooftop system knows what a hassle it is having to apply countless zip ties that are not really suitable for long-term wire management,” said Preston Nelson, director of Martin Solar and co-inventor of DCSR. “What’s worse than the initial application of zip ties is having to pull up finished solar panels to apply even more zip ties after an inspector inevitably cites an installation for having wires that droop down to the roof surface.”
DCSR is designed with a wire trough large enough to fit three-phase trunk cables, like those manufactured by Enphase, Hoymiles, and AP Systems. It can also fit up to twenty standard PV cables, without the use of zip ties. Instead of using specialized panel clamps, DCSR’s panel attachment channel is off to the side of the wire trough, where it separately accepts panel hardware.
“The dual-channel design with separately dedicated features allowed us to increase the cross-sectional area of the wire trough to a size never seen before as a rail feature. In the past, we would install a separate wire tray to manage numerous long trunk cable runs, which was even more expensive and time-consuming. Now, this present project installation involves over 600 total feet of trunk, without a single cable tie. The separate wire trough can even allow access to wire runs without lifting panels, especially convenient when a worker simply needs to track a PV string,” Nelson said.
DCSR is the first product accessory to Martin Solar’s Hidden-Fastener Solar Mount, which mounts to the roof surface without putting holes in shingles. While Martin’s proprietary solar rail and mount can be paired, both are compatible with other solar racking and mounts.
Martin Solar will show DCSR and its solar mounting system at RE+ from November 17 to 19 at booth C5071.
News item from Martin Solar
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