Project at a Glance
- Whitman designed a roof-mounted PV system at a facility located in Cherry Hill, NJ. The system is comprised of 6,150, 215-watt modules.
- After facing a number of design challenges, the companies collaborated to build a custom-designed exoskeleton to solve roof-loading issues.
- The project was completed in a quick time frame of only 120 days despite significant changes made throughout the construction process.
Key Words
Roof-mounted PV system, solar system, Cherry Hill, construction, solar modules, structural upgrades, exoskeleton, energy design
Overview
Whitman’s team of engineers designed a 1.3225 MW, roof-mounted photovoltaic solar system at a facility located in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The system is comprised of 6,150, 215-watt modules. A challenge during the project was the mounting of the modules due to roof-loading issues. To overcome this, the companies collaborated to build a custom-designed exoskeleton on which to mount the DPW Power Rail. Built and ready for modules in only 3.5 weeks, this exoskeleton also included a snow guard to alleviate snow drift on the building. The installation was the first of its kind for a roof-mounted PV system.
Whitman provided design services to help fast-track the project in an effort to complete the construction for a portion of the project prior to the year’s end. Whitman worked with the facility to minimize disturbance to the daily functions within the occupied building. The project was phased with all structural work completed during Phase I, along with 541 kW of the overall system, and the remaining work completed during Phase II. The project started mid-November 2009 and within a month about 108,000 sf of structural upgrades were completed. The system was officially turned on in February 2010, a total timeline of only 120 days despite significant changes made throughout the process.
