GameChange Solar’s New Bolting Design Achieves UL 2703 Recognition

GameChange Solar, with a long track record of providing solar tracker and racking solutions in high-wind regions worldwide, is excited to announce that its rectangular head bolt design has achieved recognized component status per UL 2703 from the nationally recognized testing lab Intertek.

This patent-pending innovative bolting solution is designed to streamline the installation process and reinforce the connection between trackers and solar modules. The new rectangular head bolt addresses the common issue of pry-out failures caused by extreme winds, offering a robust and efficient alternative.

In areas prone to strong winds, a high number of bolting connections are typically required between tracker purlins and solar modules. Traditional installations can necessitate up to 12 bolts per module to ensure stability, leading to prolonged installation times and increased labor costs.

The rectangular head bolt’s larger bearing area on the module frame ensures better load distribution and reduces the risk of pry-out failures, providing a more secure attachment. This allows for each bolt to transfer more force from the module to the rack. The result is either increased mechanical capacity of the PV module and rack assembly or a decreased number of bolts per module required to hold the module to the rack.  For the latter case, by decreasing the number of bolts needed without sacrificing load capacity, they cut down on installation time and material costs.

GameChange has performed extensive third-party testing per the IEC 61215 international standard for module load testing with full-scale samples of rectangular head bolts and solar modules.  These tests have shown increases in module capacity beyond 20% when compared to standard bolts.

In addition, the bolt’s elongated head is designed to catch on the inside of the module frame during installation, allowing for torquing of the nut to be done with one hand.  The current standard of holding the bolt head with a wrench in one hand while torquing the nut from below with another is no longer required with this design.  This feature will further reduce panelization times.

“It’s always great when an innovation addresses multiple customer needs,” said Scott Van Pelt, Chief Engineer at GameChange Solar. “In this case, the rectangular head bolts not only increase the mechanical capacity of each bolted connection between the PV module and the rack but also improve installation rates for modules due to the bolt’s self-holding features.”

For more information about the new rectangular head bolts and how they can benefit your next project, please contact [email protected].

GameChange Solar | https://gamechangesolar.com/