Despite today’s chilly weather, I finished installing the solar panels today.
I bolted the frame to the roof, with 1″ spacers to keep the frame from actually contacting the shingles (and trapping water). I connected Pex tubing to each inlet and outlet of the panels, because there isn’t enough room to reach the connection once the panel is installed. Then, with someone helping to keep the pex from kinking, I placed the panels into the frame.
They’re not connected yet– that’ll be tomorrow’s task. But at least they’re in place– and the “up on the roof” part of the process is nearly completed.
Here’s a picture of the frame before the panels went in that shows how it’s put together: a rectangle divided into three panel-sized compartments with braces underneath, supported by a frame of the same size underneath (but with only one cross brace instead of two). The 2×4 stub at the far end (visible in the far left corner) acts as a hinge; the adjustable brace has not yet been put in place.
