CleanTechnicaJune 28, 2022 By
Jennifer SensibaAGelbert COMMENT: 👍 Excellent article. HOA's have a very bad habit (SEE: 😈
malice aforethought) of doing the full overreach thing when they set up their "Rules and Regulations" thing for homeowners. Having lots of rules hanging over your head to threaten HOA residents with MIGHT be reasonable IF said rules and regulations were equitably enforced. BUT,
they NEVER ARE.
SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT of rules and regulations, a tool for targeting minorities or otherwise "undesirable" neighbors that bigot cliques want to get rid of is par for the course in the US of white privilege handbook.
Proving you are being targeted is mission impossible most of the time, simply because the "authorities" out there will inevitably side with the Rules and Regulation 😈 people that pose as 😇 innocent lambs "just trying to make the world a better place". The "defense" they use is that said rules and regulations were voted in by the majority of the homeowners (it's "Democracy!" 🙄), be it HOA aparment residents or HOA residents in a Resident Owned community (ROC). Many manufactured home parks are ROCs. The majority of the residents vote this busybody rules and regulations baloney in simply because they KNOW THEY won't be targeted when they violate the rules unless they do so blatantly and repeatedly.
Common sense rule making and enforcing is not hard; it's just the bigot busybodies out there that screw the process up so they can target those they don't want around. 😠
As to solar panels, manufactured homes, as a rule, can't have them on the roof because the roof rafters don't have the strength to handle the added weight. I live in a manufcatured home I own on a third acre of land in a Resident Owned Community (ROC). My ROC has lots of Rules and Regulations about what you can do in your yard (AND even in your house! 🤦♂️). Beyond the usual "must do this/can't do that/need permission for this" grass and leaves and gardening and so on (groan) dictates, I would need a permit from the ROC Board to put solar panels in the yard. That should be none of their business. In fact they should encourage solar panels next to our homes, but all they do is constantly harp about "rule violations will be enforced and you will pay all legal costs incurred by the ROC Board to evict you for a rule violation".
Here is an example (I do not own any pets at this time - my cat died in 2014. I think dogs and cats are great companion pets.) of a RIDICULOUS rule:
Dogs are not permitted, except in cases where a resident applies for and is granted a reasonable accommodation to have an emotional support or service animal per section VII of these Rules.
a) A qualified medical professional must sign the resident's reasonable accommodation request. The Board can provide residents interested in making a request with the appropriate forms upon request
.
AGelbert NOTE: The arrogant poster with the handle "Engnrng" had jumped on the article author with some baseless insults and generally pejorative snipes. Apparantly said poster did not like the fact that I praised the article, so he decided to do a 👿
mock/disdain/disparage number on me. He forgot to bring a sandwich
. Rather than engage in the silly flame war that Engnrng was attempting to provoke, I took the opportunity to educate readers about the "how it works" of Solar Panels and Manufactured homes, while methodically, without spite or mocking, countering Engnrng's erroroneous assumptions.
Enjoy: 🧐
Engnrng > AGelbert Out of date information by about 40 years. Since 1976, when Mobile Homes were changed to Manufactured Housing, the structural integrity increased substantially and no additional reinforcement is needed to put solar panels on the roof. I understand the misinformation U spread, though. What was true in 1976 hasn't been true for a few decades, but it takes awhile for some people to learn new things.
AGelbert > Engnrng Sir, my Vermont Manufactured Home by Pine Grove (home was built in the year 2000) has heavy snow capable roof structure (i.e. 40 PSf load capable).
Even with my roof stucture, which is far above average roof strength in other parts of the USA where it doesn't snow and there are LOTS of manufactured homes (i.e. Southern USA), my roof rafters cannot handle average solar panel weights. Check your references before you jump to scold or baselessly mock people. Now if some lightweight new solar panel type of PV is used, or a PV shingle arrangement (VERY expensive so out of the question for manufactured home owners) then yeah, it could be done, as you say, but that is not the type of solar panel discussed in the article or available for the average homeowner at this time.
I will provide proof of my assertion right now if you wish. By the way, do you live in a manufatured home?
There is one manufactured home that was marketed about a decade ago that boasted solar panels on the roof:
2015 Delaware Pilot Project
It is rather expensive and that is the exception to the rule.
Engnrng > AGelbert Yes, my daughter lives in a manufactured home in California. Last year, solar panels were installed, no problem, no reinforcement needed according to the permitting agency HCD - because the home was installed since 1976. The solar panels that were installed were 4 lbs per square ft - about the same weight as a layer of asphalt roof shingles. Welcome to the 21st century. Perhaps U might want to try again - the lightweight panels have been available for the last 5 years or so, but perhaps not available outside of California? That is just my speculation, given your experience. She saves over $100 per month in electricity, has Net Energy Metering that we expect will average her electric bill over the year at about $5 per month for connection and grid fees. Works out to about an 8% return on her investment - pretty dang cheap when you look at rate of return. Vermont is further north, so might need larger array to cover your bills. Good luck to you!
AGelbert > Engnrng Thank you for your respectful reply. I just ask you to keep in mind that the Solar Panel attachment points to the roof have a very small total area.
The PSI (lbs per sq. inch) at those points is the number you must use to calculate maximum allowable roof loading. Forgive me for belaboring the point countering your repeated assertion that, as of 1976, (HUD) required manufactured home Solar Panel capable roof strength. In 1976 HUD did not, and has not as of 2022, required Solar Panel capable roof strength for manufactured homes.
It is clear that your daughter's home has an excellent roof. Also, she must have a permanent foundation, which is rare for most mobile homes. Mine sits on blocks on a cemment pad with a skirt around it,
which rules me out for roof Solar Panels before I even get to the roof structure. If you can tell me the name of the manufacturer of her home, I would be interested.
Solar panels are roughly 5 feet long and 3 feet wide, with some small variation by manufacturer. Solar panels usually weigh about 40 pounds each. So, that comes out at about 2.7 lbs per square ft. Both the mounting equipment and the solar panels weigh 2-4 lbs per square foot.
Some crystalline panels, however, bear too much weight for some roofs (i.e. most manufactured homes) to withstand. WHY? Because the key number you need to figure is not the 2-4 lbs per square ft, but the attachment point PSI (lbs per square inch). That is where the pressure is actually exerted on the roof.
I hope this article helps you underatnd why I firmly believe I have factual grounds for my claim that
most manufactured homes do not have the roof rafter and or joist strength to safely handle average Solar Panel installation PSI:Recent article by Understand SolarSNIPPETS:
n 1976, new federal standards for manufactured homes (known as the
HUD Code) means they are now much more energy efficient, but new mobile homes can still be plagued by inefficiencies. ... ...
The issue is the structural components of most manufactured homes, specifically the roof and the foundation.
Most of these homes simply aren’t designed to hold solar panels. ... ...
The issue with most manufactured homes is that they typically have smaller roof joists than conventional homes. This means they can’t safely hold the weight of the installation. If you’ve got the right joist set-up, you could be well on your way to safely installing solar on your roof, but few mobile homes actually do.
A permanent foundation is requiredWe’ve all probably seen a conventional house being built. Builders dig deep into the ground to lay a concrete foundation that gives the house its strong structure. Manufactured homes are different, though. They aren’t necessarily permanently embedded into the ground. Instead, they are placed on top of the ground.
The bottom line on solar panels for mobile homesYou can certainly install solar on mobile homes, but
homes that meet the requirements are fairly rare. Our best advice is to talk to a few local installers to see what the local building requirements are and have them inspect your roof joists and foundation to see if your home is up for the challenge.
Full article: 🌞