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Manufacturer Reduces Operating Costs With Solar Install

Project at a Glance

“With a large number of metal roofs utilized in Western Canada, Sunfind Solar quickly discovered that S-5! has a superior product, which provides a reliable rack-to-roof anchoring solution for our systems.

-Caleb Schmidt, Sunfind Solar

The Situation & Results

Alberta, Canada is home to the building products and services industry, world-renowned for its expertise in ensuring a building retains heat in the winter and remains cool in the summer, while using energy wisely and cost-effectively. Additionally,
approximately 95% of commercial roofing in Alberta is metal roofing.

Genics is a global industry leader and international inventor, specializing in the
development and manufacture of environmentally responsible, worker-safe products used to preserve and protect wood, and extend the service life of wood assets. Based in Acheson, just two miles west of the province’s capital city of Edmonton, the Genics’ facility manufactures quality wood treatment products for utilities, builders, contractors, farmers and homeowners throughout North America and Europe.

Being an environmentally-conscious company with a high level of energy consumption on site, Genics sought to utilize renewable energy sources to supplement its power generation and “going solar” was their method of choice. Genics’ manufacturing facility is a 20,000+ square foot metal-clad building featuring a one-inch nail strip metal roof and a 148kW DC solar array secured to the roof with the S-5-N clamp.

What Worked?

Structural Engineering Firm, Lex 3 Engineering was brought in to measure the roof profile, including the height of the ridges, the gauge, the rafters and the girders. From there, they would need to complete the structural engineering required for the project.

Due to the facility’s high level of energy consumption, solar installer Sunfind Solar was charged with fitting as much solar on the roof as possible and finding an economical anchoring system that together would meet the engineering requirements.

The shallow design of the facility’s roof and the southeast orientation of the building necessitated that the solar system be installed facing slightly southeast and with a 10-degree module tilt, so they elected to utilize a tilted rack application for the project. In addition, the roof features a nail strip profile; therefore, Sunfind Solar selected the S-5 N clamp to secure the tilted rack array. The S-5-N is specifically designed for nail strip profiles and provided the best tested holding capacity to
the seam.

The clamp features an innovative insert that ensures a superior custom-fit to the seam profile and angled setscrews facilitate easy installation. The nose of the clamp and the angled wall of the clamp both engage the overlapping portion of the nail strip panels.

Long-Term Outlook

Genics is now contributing to producing its own clean energy, while reducing utility
costs and putting an otherwise empty roof space to work.

S-5! Products Used

The S-5-N (“N” stands for nail strip) is a non-penetrating, standing seam metal roof (SSMR) clamp. The N fits popular 1″ nail strips, such as: Taylor Metals’ Easy Lock™, ASC Building Products’ Skyline Roofing®, McElroy Metals’ Meridian, New Tech Machinery’s FF100 and roofing types with similar profiles.

For nail strip profiles with 1.5” seam height, see “S-5-N 1.5.”

Learn more about the product featured in this case study.

S-5-N Mini Clamp
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