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GraceWay Sports Center Reduces Their Carbon Footprint Switching to Solar Using RibBracket IV™

Project at a Glance

The products allow us to increase our stability and rigidity on the roof. Since we have to work with difficult logistics, the nature of the products allows us to stock enough to be prepared for almost any job. The extensive engineering behind S-5! products also helps us in selecting for and satisfying the most stringent requirements. Together, this supports our goal of creating more renewable energy installations for Turks and Caicos Islands and beyond.”

― Boris von Bormann, Co-Founder, renu energy TCI

The Situation & Results

The Turks & Caicos Islands wanted to reduce their dependency on imported fossil fuels by supplementing the island’s power generation with solar PV and created a program to offer qualifying customers the opportunity to partner with the local utility to lease their rooftop space for the generation of solar energy.

Renu energy TCI used S-5!’s RibBracket IV, specifically designed for this roof profile, and the S-5-PVKIT® 2.0 allowed for rail-less PV mounting to the standing seam metal roof. Graceway Sports Centre is now able to generate more than 430,000 kWh per year.

What Worked?

Renu energy TCI always uses aluminum and stainless steel components to combat corrosion and the effects of salt air and chose S-5! products for this reason. S-5! uses non- corrosive materials made from high-tensile aluminum that are salt-fog corrosion tested in accordance with ASTM B 117 standards for metallurgical compatibility. All fasteners and mating hardware are A2-70 stainless steel. Additionally, the low-profile, rail-less PV mounting solution enabled Renu energy TCI to achieve a design engineered to withstand the area’s hurricane winds. By directly attaching the PV to the seams of the roof, it provided for installation efficiency and flexibility and distributed the load more prudently and uniformly into the structure.

Using this approach to solar mounting provided a significant decrease in the amount of material required to ship to the islands. A traditional, three-rail system would have involved 10,000 feet of rail and required a full 40-foot container to ship. S-5! provided six attachments per module shipped on ONE standard palette―a 50% savings on product cost and 70% on shipping!

The island of Providenciales is located in a hurricane-prone area so design wind load requirements necessitated a solar mounting product capable of withstanding up to 180-mile-per- hour winds. In addition, the salt air and salt spray which accelerates corrosion makes any construction project on the island challenging so renu energy TCI needed a system that could withstand these environmental conditions. They also desired a low-profile, aesthetically-pleasing mounting system that would provide low clearance.

Long-Term Outlook

The Turks & Caicos Islands have reduced their dependency on imported fossil fuels and supplemented their power generation by adding solar PV to the islands’ electrical infrastructure, and the customer has benefitted from savings on its monthly electricity bill. The S-5! solar solution provided an aesthetically pleasing, cost-effective PV mounting system – saving the customer time and money on installation and materials.

S-5! Products Used

The RibBracket I-V is used with the PVKIT® for (rail-less) solar PV mounting. This metal roof bracket comes in five different sizes and is an economical, sheeting-only attachment solution that can be placed anywhere along the roof ribs.

RibBracket I-V is not limited to the location of the building substructure, offering infinite flexibility for module placement anywhere on your roof. You can mount microinverters and other module-level power electronics as well.

Angled Attachment to Resist Pull-Out

The RibBracket I-V design converts upward pull from wind uplift into shear, achieving unsurpassed holding strength.

The slotted top hole provides lateral adjustability of the PVKIT for space correction and to easily square up the modules.

Learn more about the product featured in this case study.

RibBracket I-V
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