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3. Placement of the Collectors
The choice of location, inclination and orientation of the solar collectors has to be
determined at the design stage of the installation. The installation of the solar
collectors in the building should be carried out respecting the instructions of the
person in charge of the project, who should have taken into consideration the effect
of the orientation, inclination and possible shadows in the calculation of benefits of
the solar system.
Particular attention should be paid to the minimum distance maintained between two
rows of solar collectors or between an obstacle in front of a group of solar collectors
and them. During the calculation of this distance one should take into consideration
the latitude of the place, the inclination of the terrain and the period of use of the
facility. Failure to have a more detailed specification by the designer of the facility,
the distance should not be less than that shown in Figure 6.
At the time of its installation, the solar collectors should be stored in a compound
covered and kept in their original packaging. During the assembly phase, avoid
keeping the solar collectors outdoors with the cover glass facing down on wet
surfaces, in order to prevent entry of humidity or water in the rear of the collector.
Figure 6. Distance needed in order to avoid shadows on collectors.
Once at work, in the event that the installer observes the existence of elements that
can cause shadows on the solar collectors and have not be taken into account in the
design of the system, as protection walls in terraces, fireplaces, outdoor air
conditioning units or other elements, should inform the designer of the project or the
owner of the property in order to revise or amend the calculations made for the
location of the collectors, if necessary.
The system of fixing the support frame of the solar collectors to the building also
must be determined in the design phase of the installation, for example by
conducting benches built on a flat roof. In this case, the thickness and size of the
bench should be sufficient to ensure stability of the whole in case of strong gusts of
wind. In any case, the solution adopted should ensure the solidity and stability of the
setting without compromising the watertight integrity of the deck. To facilitate the
design of the fixing system, figures 7 to 13 show the distances between the support
frames of the solar collectors.
