Solar support structures and methods

A method of assembling a solar support structure comprising:

• connecting a plurality of channel rails to a plurality of purlins forming a rail framework such that an upper side of each of the plurality of channel rails lie in a common plane;
• affixing a first shingling rail having an inverted “L” shaped profile to a first side of a first photovoltaic panel;
• affixing a second shingling rail having an inverted “L” shaped profile to a second side of the first photovoltaic panel opposite the first side of the first photovoltaic panel;
• connecting the first shingling rail to one of the channel rails;
• connecting the second shingling rail to an adjacent one of the channel rails;
• affixing a third shingling rail having an inverted “L” shaped profile to a first side of a second photovoltaic panel;
• affixing a fourth shingling rail having an inverted “L” shaped profile to a second side of the second photovoltaic panel opposite the first side of the second photovoltaic panel;
• arranging the first and second photovoltaic panels so that a third side of the second photovoltaic panel partially overlaps and lies atop a fourth side of the first photovoltaic panel, wherein the second photovoltaic panel lies in a plane angled from the common plane, and the first photovoltaic panel lies in parallel to the common plane;
• and
• connecting a clip between the first and second photovoltaic panels where the third side of the second photovoltaic panel partially overlaps the fourth side of the first photovoltaic panel.

A method of assembling a structure to support an array of photovoltaic panels arranged in columns and rows, the method comprising:

• connecting a plurality of parallel channel rails to a plurality of purlins forming a framework where two adjacent parallel channel rails form a column and where centers of adjacent parallel channel rails are spaced slightly wider than a width of a photovoltaic panel to be installed on the structure;
• affixing shingling rails having an inverted “L” shaped profile along a bottom side of substantially an entire length of opposed first and second sides of a first photovoltaic panel resulting in a first shingling rail affixed to the first side and a second shingling rail affixed to the opposed second side of the first photovoltaic panel;
• leaving a third and a fourth side of the first photovoltaic panel without shingling rails;
• placing the first photovoltaic panel in a first column of the structure defined by adjacent channel rails, where a part of the first shingling rail extending from the bottom side lies within a channel of one of the adjacent channel rails, and a part of the second shingling rail extending from the bottom side lies within a channel of another one of the adjacent channel rails, wherein the first photovoltaic panel lies parallel to a common plane defined by the plurality of channel rails;
• affixing other shingling rails having an inverted “L” shaped profile along a bottom side of opposed first and second sides of a second photovoltaic panel;
• and
• placing the second photovoltaic panel in a second column of the structure adjacent to the first column and defined on one side by a common channel rail with the first column, where a part of one of the other shingling rails extending from the bottom side of the second photovoltaic panel lies within the common channel rail;
• wherein the first photovoltaic panel and the second photovoltaic panel are separated on adjacent sides by a space permitting water and debris to flow into the common channel rail.