earshavewalls
Bronze Member
I have a bit of a dilemna. Per the California Building Code, Section 1013.5, any equipment that requires service that is installed within 10' of a roof edge is required to have guards (or parapet) at 42" above the roof surface to extend 30" beyond each end of the equipment.
This has not been an issue until now. A contractor is wanting to install a relatively small PV system on a commercial building with extremely low parapet walls. The only setback they recognize is the Fire Department's requirement for all panels and equipment to be min. 48" from the roof edge. So, this is how close they propose to install their panels. They are attempting to claim that photovoltaic panels never require any service, and therefore they are exempt from this requirement. I do not believe in absolutes, myself, so their claim of panels NEVER requiring any service is not making it into my brain.
I believe this is a life-safety issue and that the module layout needs to comply with this requirement. The designer/contractor is claiming that they cannot reconfigure and that if they cannot install this system as shown, the project will not be done. Well, I'm not buying it.
Has anyone else come across this sort of thing? The biggest problem here is that it is a very small building, and that the building is a "commercial condominium" where each space is "owned" by the tenant. There is also a parapet between the units, but this parapet is not at issue. I believe this is a case of trying to fit more than is possible on an existing building. We have several large PV installations on J.C. Penney, 2 Kohl's, and another at our own, City-owned facility. ALL of these systems met this requirement from the beginning.
Now I'll take all the flack from this group......lol.
Have any of you who are in enforcement run into this argument?
Thanks
This has not been an issue until now. A contractor is wanting to install a relatively small PV system on a commercial building with extremely low parapet walls. The only setback they recognize is the Fire Department's requirement for all panels and equipment to be min. 48" from the roof edge. So, this is how close they propose to install their panels. They are attempting to claim that photovoltaic panels never require any service, and therefore they are exempt from this requirement. I do not believe in absolutes, myself, so their claim of panels NEVER requiring any service is not making it into my brain.
I believe this is a life-safety issue and that the module layout needs to comply with this requirement. The designer/contractor is claiming that they cannot reconfigure and that if they cannot install this system as shown, the project will not be done. Well, I'm not buying it.
Has anyone else come across this sort of thing? The biggest problem here is that it is a very small building, and that the building is a "commercial condominium" where each space is "owned" by the tenant. There is also a parapet between the units, but this parapet is not at issue. I believe this is a case of trying to fit more than is possible on an existing building. We have several large PV installations on J.C. Penney, 2 Kohl's, and another at our own, City-owned facility. ALL of these systems met this requirement from the beginning.
Now I'll take all the flack from this group......lol.
Have any of you who are in enforcement run into this argument?
Thanks