Vaisala, a Finnish supplier of weather, environmental and industrial measurement products, began construction on a state-of-the-art U.S. headquarters in Louisville, Colorado, that would demonstrate sustainability – and S-5! solar energy attachments helped the company achieve its goals.
Vaisala’s new headquarters in Louisville, Colorado features a vertical solar project mounted to the building’s facade with S-5! metal roof attachments.
The project would construct a new building that would be seamlessly integrated with the existing one, creating an indoor-outdoor campus. Inspired by the minimalist design of the Scandinavian headquarters, the new structure embodies modernity and prioritises eco-consciousness. Specifically, the project achieves net-zero energy levels through a combination of sustainable design features. This includes a state-of-the-art 492-panel solar array on the roof, a mechanical VRF HVAC system and a vertical, double-skin curtain wall, all included to minimize energy consumption.
The building features a pre-existing 101 kW tilted solar array on the TPO roof of the lower south building, the S-5-U Mini/Unirac rail-based solar system on the upper standing seam metal roof and a vertical facade with standing seam. -mounted array secured with the S-5! PVKIT railless mounting solution for solar energy. Together, the metal solar systems on the roof produce 228 kW.
The owner wanted a sleek-looking, unobtrusive system that would complement the look of the roof and exterior of the building. The biggest challenge was to install an aesthetically pleasing, vertically mounted PV array on the existing standing seam facade wall, including technical sign-off of the solution. A conventional, heavy rail system was not considered suitable for the facade wall.
The array mounted on the facade not only had to enhance the building’s aesthetic appeal, but also had to withstand enormous wind loads, up to wind speeds of approximately 230 km/h.
“When we began the facade installation portion of this project, we reviewed our options and knowing that aesthetics were a top priority for the customer, the PVKIT solution was a logical choice,” said Briana Morris, chief commercial engineer at Namaste Solar. “On the commercial side, we had yet to dip our toes into railless solutions because we were concerned about wire management for the field. With a little planning in advance, before the modules were installed, this turned out to be no problem. Our crews loved installing this system and said they would love to install more projects like this.”
By attaching the PV directly to the seams of the facade wall, S-5! attachment points provided the necessary mounting strength to secure the array to the structure. The clamps act as wind clamps, often called “external seam clamps”, measurably increasing the roof’s wind resistance capacity.
“Given the unusual forces placed on racks for a vertical setup, using clamps with two set screws has certainly helped alleviate concerns about clamps rotating under load,” says Ash Bowersock, commercial engineering designer for Namaste Solar. “The low profile of the S-5! PVKIT really helped with the wind load and of course with the aesthetics.”
Over time, the solar system will offset 69% of the building’s electricity consumption. The project achieved an Energy Use Intensity rating of 28, which measures a building’s energy performance, making it one of Colorado’s most sustainable office buildings.
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