DEMO — fictional range. Local brief only, NOT SENT. No personal data is collected or transmitted.
MATERIAL
Six materials, and what each one is chosen for.
Balance-of-system parts stand outdoors for decades and are installed once. Materials are chosen for corrosion resistance first and for strength second.
Illustrative material record
- Galvanised strip
- Tray and brackets · the zinc is the protection and it is consumed over decades
- Powder-coated steel
- Enclosures · a film over the metal, and a chip is a starting point for rust
- Stainless A4
- Fixings near the coast · resists chlorides where A2 does not
- Stainless A2
- Fixings inland · adequate and cheaper, and it fails at the coast
- Copper
- Bonding and busbars · low resistance, and it is stolen if it is visible
- UV-stabilised polymer
- Cable management · light, and it ages in sunlight like any polymer
Illustrative examples for a fictional range. Material selection depends on the site, the atmosphere and the required life, and is confirmed against a specification rather than a web page.
Why the fixing grade changes at the coast.
Because chlorides attack stainless grades that are adequate inland. The fixings hold the system down, and they are the smallest and most exposed parts of it.
Why dissimilar metals matter here.
Because a galvanised tray bolted with a stainless fixing and wetted by rain makes a small cell, and the zinc is what is consumed. The washer is not a detail.