—Daniel Cháves, Energy Manager, DICOMA Corporación
Walmart, the world’s largest retail corporation, operates hundreds of stores throughout Central America, including the region’s largest Walmart store located in Roosevelt, Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Recently, the store replaced its older Ternium TR-101 trapezoidal rib metal roof with a new KR-18 standing seam roof and installed a 690kWp solar array, which generates 1GW per year and reduces carbon emissions by 31 tons annually.
The project was completed in less than a month, with the solar installation completed in just eight days by two crews of four installers each. The facility’s 1,260 rooftop solar modules were held in place utilizing the S-5! PVKIT® rail-less solar mounting solution along with S-5-MX™ Mini clamps.
The client wished to supplement its power needs and reduce its overall carbon footprint. However, a primary concern was finding a mounting system that would not penetrate the roof resulting in leaks. Dicoma, the general contractor, recommended the S-5-MX Mini and S-5! PVKIT, a non-penetrating, low-profile aesthetic solution, which would provide visual order for the facility—an ongoing goal and differentiator for Dicoma. Additionally, they wanted a lightweight mounting system that would add minimal dead load on the roof since the
existing building was not designed to carry a large amount of additional weight. An added benefit would be the ease of transporting lightweight materials both to the site and up onto the roof.
The client selected the PVKIT rail-less solar mounting solution along with the S-5-MX Mini clamps, designed for the specific metal roof profile—providing a simple, secure method to “lay & play” PV modules with tested, engineered, cost-saving, direct attachment onto the seams of the metal roof. Providing a faster and easier installation than a traditional rail system, the PVKIT allows panels to be installed anywhere on the roof. The compact and lightweight nature of the S-5! mountings not only simplified freight and transporting logistics but reduced the load on the roof by
85% compared to traditional racking by eliminating the need of rails. Paired with the S-5-MX Mini clamp, an economical solution for both single-folded and double-folded profiles, the end- result was a rooftop solar system that supplemented 30% of the power needs for the facility and did not penetrate the roof, potentially cause leaks. The client has peace of mind knowing they selected a solution that would outlast the 35-yr ± life of the solar array.
By utilizing the PVKIT direct-attach solar mounting solution paired with the S-5-MX Mini clamps, the client has supplemented its power needs, achieved the quality look desired, maintained the roof’s integrity, and complemented the look of the roof with a clean appearance, designed and engineered to last the life of the roof.
The pre-assembled PVKIT® used in rail-less solar PV mounting can save you in logistics and installation time. It is compatible with all S-5! clamps and most brackets. It fits all 30-46 mm module frames and offers multiple slots for wire management.
La abrazadera S-5-MX (“MX” por compatibilidad con paneles comunes en México) es de una sola pieza que encaja tanto en perfiles de plegado simple como de plegado doble. Es la solución perfecta para el montaje direct-attach™ (sin necesidad de usar rieles) con el PVKIT® 2.0. El MX también se puede usar para unir líneas de vida, pasarelas, cajas de combinación, conductos, bandejas de cables y otros componentes de equilibrio del sistema (BOS).
