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How to Prepare Your Installation Site for Winter

Here is the good news...Solar Foundations USA installs all year long. Our equipment has the capability to install piles through the frost layer with no issues. The frozen ground often makes driving on the grass very easy with little lawn damage.

However, with the cold comes snow. Let's discuss how your company needs to prepare the site so the ground mount installation is feasible once the SFUSA crew arrives.

ARRAY LOCATION & ACCESS PATH CLEARED OF SNOW

• For ground snow cover of 4 inches or less no additional snow removal from the work area is required.
• Beyond the 4 inches, we require the homeowner or solar company to clear the following areas:
  • The complete array location including a minimum of 15 feet around the array location for our equipment and crews to work safely.
  • The access path to the array area which needs to be a minimum of 12 feet wide.
• Openings in any snow banks shall be made sufficiently wide to allow access to the array location.
• If snow banks, ground snow cover or other limitations prevent us from accessing the array work area, we will not be able to install.
• Assuming the homeowner does not want to wait for the snow to melt, we have found that the best way to accomplish this is for the homeowner or solar company to line up a local contractor for snow removal to get the site snow removal done.

Photos of a cleared site:

ALL FOUR CORNERS OF THE ARRAY ARE STAKED OUT

• A site photo showing the four outside corners of the array staked-out is necessary before scheduling the installation.
• We ask that the four stakes be substantial in size to avoid any onsite confusion. Wooden or metal stakes are inexpensive and clearly convey the correct location even if there is several months between initial stake-out and install.
• Please do not use small, metal flags as they tend to get lost or pulled out of the ground easily. We will provide you a stake-out plan to assist in laying out the corners. Solar Foundations will perform the layout of all piles when we install the system.
• The person performing the stake-out should set the two south corners at the azimuth you want the array orientated to. You may determine that for aesthetic reasons, shading issues, or possibly site setbacks and restrictions, the array will not be aligned to true south.

Photos of a staked site:

For more information on Solar Foundations’ process, visit our Installation Scheduling page or contact SFUSA by calling (855) 738-7200.

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