This article will show how to attach commercially available solar panel mounting brackets to a corrugated metal roof that lacked flat surfaces. In the photo above, a ladder was used to slide the PV panels to the roof.

Photovoltaic (PV) panels produce all of the electricity for this straw bale hybrid home from sunlight. All of the PV panels are permanently attached to the south facing pitched roof.  Standing-seam metal roofs are partially flat, so mounting a rack is not a problem.  The roof on my house is corrugated metal and therefore has no flat surfaces for the aluminum mounting brackets to seat.  A stout connection is essential for the photovoltaic panels to survive high wind loads and to create a waterproof seal where the bolts penetrate the roof surface. What we needed was a mounting platform that both comformed to the convolutions of the metal roof and also had a flat surface for the foot bracket to contact.

Here is how we solved the problem. (more…)