Securing solar and the future of rooftop real estate

By Jesse Sanchez. 

How ballast-only systems are giving way to engineered anchors and how real-world storms prove the value of positive attachment. 

In this episode of the Roofing Road Trips® podcast, Anchor Products’ Southeast regional manager, Harley Coleman, talks about solar and the rapid evolution of rooftop attachment strategies. For Anchor Products, which built its early business in solar, the trend is both familiar and accelerating. 

“We are very involved in the solar piece of the business as that was almost exclusively our focus for the first 12 years of our company,” Harley told host Karen Edwards. “So I would say we are probably the market leader in terms of market share when it comes to mechanically attached solar racking systems or providing the mechanical attachment for solar racking systems on commercial roofs.” 

As commercial rooftop real estate becomes more valuable, owners are adding megawatts to their buildings at a fast pace. Harley said, “We are definitely seeing an increase in the amount of megawatts that are being put down on commercial roofing. That real estate's starting to become more attractive as real estate in general is premium.” He also noted that Anchor Products works “with the racking companies to build a system that rises to the code requirements across the country.” 

The company’s approach has already been tested in major storms. Harley cited an early project in Yonkers, New York, that rode out Superstorm Sandy. “The solar array that was on the building in Yonkers that we provided stood tall through the storm,” he said. However, not everything on the roof performed as well. Harley shared, “Right next to the building, was other equipment that hadn't been secured in the same way that we had secured the solar array.” Some HVAC units “became dislodged during the storm and subsequently ended up on top of the solar array.” 

Even as those loose units damaged panels, the anchored system stayed in place. “As a means of Anchor doing its job, we certainly held it down, so to speak,” he said. The incident reinforced a point Harley made throughout the conversation: it is not enough to secure a single asset on the roof. Contractors and owners must think holistically about every piece of equipment exposed to wind uplift. 

Listen to the podcast to learn more about how secure solar attachment is shaping the future of rooftop real estate and long-term system performance!