DESIGNING YOUR SYSTEM
Mounting racks
Magen eco-Spark
®
Installation manual. © 2012, all rights reserved
P a g e
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12
MOUNTING RACKS
Important:
The collector must be supported and lying on a rigid surface. It is not a self-supported unit.
Wherever the system is installed, both headers should be elevated 2.5 cm (1") to 5 cm (2") above the
roof/ground, by using stainless steel/wooden profiles. For roof types that might be affected by the heat
radiating from the collector an additional metal/wooden profile should be installed under the binders. The
metal/wooden profiles prevent the collector from coming in direct contact with the roof.
In all installations a minimum of two metal/wooden profiles must be installed as instructed above, to
keep the breathing holes (which are located on the lower surface of the sealing panel) constantly open.
This will eliminate the possibility of water ingress into the glazing.
Where there is no roof space, you may need to construct a rack to mount some
or all of the eco-Spark
®
panels. The rack must provide a STABLE base for the panels to be secured to.
When designing a mounting rack the following considerations should be taken into account:
The tilt of the rack should be as near as possible to the latitude of the location, to provide optimum
solar collection.
The tilt of the rack must be sufficient to allow the collectors to drain naturally when the pool pump
shuts off as well as for self-cleaning purposes (at least 15
0
).
When calculating the area for the rack, take into account that collectors expand and contract due to
temperature changes under normal working conditions. Allow for additional 10 cm (4'') length per
collector.
Allow room on the rack for the supply and return plumbing and plumbing between collectors and
banks.
The mounting rack must be stable, and able to support the weight of the collectors when filled with
water, which is up to 8kg/m
2
(1.6 lbs./ft
2
).
Note:
Whenever solar collectors are installed on a rack, a substrate should be mounted on the rack
prior to mounting the panel. This eliminates heat loss and stress created by wind blowing on the back
and sides of the rack.
Breathing
holes
Figure 2: Sample mouting rack
IMPORTANT
: Some local building codes require that the rack construction be approved by an authorized
engineer. Please conform to local building codes and regulations in your region!
