Years ago in a Yahoo group someone posted a message to see if there was a steel roofing profile that was friendly to being used in solar collectors. I replied that in Ontario Canada there is one steel roofing manufacture that has a profile that was almost perfect for solar collectors. Ideal Roofing has a profile called Security Rib that as 5/8 ribs that you put the screws in. The ribs are about 7" apart with the outside ones about an inch in from the edge. My only complaint about using it for both roofing and solar collectors is if it had double the number of ribs it could be put up as roofing at first putting screws in every second rib and then slowly converted over to solar collectors by lifting the panel and putting the pipes under the ribs not used with the screws and the glazing added over time. If it was going to be used for solar from the start the screws could always be put in the low part of the profile.
|