Ecodirect has been very good to work with through this process. I want to thank Ecodirect for their attention to detail and great customer service during this project. I received bids from three different solar distribution companies for this project and I can say with great confidence that I made the correct decision to purchase from EcoDirect.

Structure

This particular ground mount points the solar array south (azimuth of 180) at an angle of 25 degrees. The 10” diameter creosote utility posts are set 4.5 feet into the clay ground. Prior to panel installation, the structure was tested by hurricane Harvey (strong cat II winds). The racking system is an IronRidge XR1000 system with 136 L-Foots providing a total of ~80,000lbs of pullout strength. All “rafters and joists” are double plated and connected with hot dipped galvanized bolts and hurricane ties. After using IronRidge design software, southern pine lumber load tables and hand calculations, the system should be able to handle a 130 mph wind load. The gap at the bottom of the array will be used for a livestock electric fence and the creosote posts will be used as a fence. Once it is complete, it will be a self-contained unit so that our cattle and spoiled horse can walk around the unit and eat all of the grass they want.

Panels/Inverters

The array consists of sixty 260 watt Astronergy solar panels and Enphase microinverters and cables.