Study of wind loads applied to rooftop solar panels

The results from a full-scale faux solar panel installation research project for two panels placed near the edge of a building with a flat roof on the University of Colorado Denver campus are presented. The building and campus are located in downtown Denver, CO adjacent to a special wind region. A faux solar panel test frame was developed to measure the forces imposed on a full scale solar panel mounted on a flat roof. The measured wind direction, velocity, and corresponding barometric pressure are used to determine the resultant force due to the velocity pressure on the face of the panel. The resultant force is derived from the force measured from strain gages connected to a diagonal tension tie on the test frame. The force coefficient CF is determined from the ratio of the resultant panel force determined from strain measurements and the force determined from the velocity pressure. CF values so determined are presented within.