Q&A With David Froelich, Director Of Business Development At Solaire Generation
Solar Power World: Solaire Generation focuses on solar structures and solar carport projects. How big of a market is solar for garage structures in particular?
David Froelich: There are no published numbers on the garage top market that we’ve seen, but our experience indicates that it is a growing segment in the solar carport market. This is due in part to the appeal of using space that cannot be redeveloped, as opposed to a ground parking lot or greenfield.
A 684-kW system at Staples’ headquarters in Framingham, Mass., uses Solaire Generation’s Long Span R5. This was Solaire Generation’s first garage-top installation.
SPW: Must a solar structure be integrated with the original design of a parking garage, or can one be added later?
DF: The solar structure can be added later, as has been the case with many of our garage installations. If the solar structure is taken into consideration as part of the original design, there can be some cost savings during garage preparation and construction of the canopies.
SPW: Which of Solaire Generation’s products is most applicable to parking garages and why?
DF: The Long Span R5 is specifically designed for garage top applications, as it can span the entire width of the parking bays – typically around 60 feet.
SPW: What are the greatest technical challenges for garage-top solar?
DF: The parking structure needs to tie into the garage’s existing column grid because a column cannot be dropped indiscriminately. This poses a challenge because each garage is fairly unique. Also, garages cannot handle the weight of typical installation equipment, so the installation of the structure is done by crane. Crane access around the garage, then, becomes a critical issue.
SPW: Because the solar system could be many dozens of feet above ground, are wind loads a greater issue?
DF: Yes, they can be. Garages are designed to handle dead load, but not moment, so the structures need to be engineered accordingly.
SPW: Clearly garage-top solar offers protection from the elements for top-floor parkers, but what other benefits have you seen?
DF: I’ll start with the obvious: electricity to the building. But beyond that, we can integrate water management systems to repurpose storm water, and the coverage can reduce the amount of snow that falls onto the garage deck, so it improves site maintenance.
SPW: Finally, in your experience, what convinces clients to apply solar to a parking garage?
DF: At the end of the day, the decision comes down to the bottom line. It has to make sense financially, which, thanks to the continually falling cost of solar and state and federal incentives, it does in many places across the country.