Volume 11 - Issue 56
/ August 2022
169
https://www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2022.56.08.18
How to Cite:
Resatoglu, R., Özsavaş Akçay, A., & Ostovar Ravari, S. (2022). Structural analysis and comparative study of photovoltaic panel
mounting systems in Northern Cyprus. Amazonia Investiga, 11(56), 169-182. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2022.56.08.18
Structural analysis and comparative study of photovoltaic panel
mounting systems in Northern Cyprus
Kuzey Kıbrıs'ta güneş paneli taşıyıcı sistemlerinin yapısal analizi ve karşılaştırılması
Received: July 29, 2022 Accepted: September 7, 2022
Written by:
Rifat Resatoglu80
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7116-4497
Ayten Özsavaş Akçay81
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3409-6621
Shaghayegh Ostovar Ravari82
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9056-3867
Abstract
Northern Cyprus has made efforts to lessen its
reliance on oil products and increase the usage of
solar energy and installation of Photovoltaic
(PV) panels. The design of lightweight
structures, such as PV panel mounting systems,
is significantly influenced by the characteristics
of wind loads. Inaccurate calculations or a failure
to take the wind load into account have recently
resulted in substantial financial losses and
damage to equipment and structures. In addition,
the installation manner has remarkable effects on
the output and efficiency of the PV panels. The
wind loads on roof-mounted PV panels are
examined in this study by considering two
different heights for the building and different
span lengths based on two loading standards;
ASCE 7-16 and TS498, and the results and
accuracy of each result are evaluated.
Additionally, 64 rooftop PV panel mounting
systems were developed to investigate the effects
of factors including beam span length, load
resisting system, column arrangement, available
roof area, and required spacing between arrays.
Deflection of the beams, cost of the mounting
systems, weight of the mounting systems, and
aesthetics of the building after installing PV
panels are evaluated in this study.
Keywords: ASCE 7-16/TS498, Northern
Cyprus, PV panel mounting system, PV solar
panels, wind loads.
80
Assoc. Prof. Dr., Near East University, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Northern
Cyprus.
81
Asst. Prof. Dr., Near East University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Architecture, Northern Cyprus.
82
MSc in Civil Engieering, Near East University, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering,
Northern Cyprus.
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Introduction
The total estimated annual solar radiation
reaching the earth's surface is more than 7500
times the total annual energy consumption of the
world (Okoye & Abbasoğlu, 2013, WEC
resources solar (2013), Kassem et al, 2019a).
Energy from the sun can be directly converted
into electrical energy using photovoltaic (PV)
panels (Kassem et al, 2019a). Loads on the
mounting system of PV panels, especially wind
loads, depending on various factors related to the
geographical condition, surrounding condition,
installation location, and mounting system
characteristics. Various research has been carried
out and multiple methods have been employed to
study wind loads on PV panels in various settings
in recent years (Sauca et al., 2019)
A climate change hotspot is a region where the
climate is particularly sensitive to global
warming (Giorgi, 2006) and faces more risks and
challenges than other regions due to climate
change (Fan et al., 2021). According to recent
research, the Mediterranean region is a climate
change hotspot (Hochman et al, 2022;
Barcikowska et al., 2020) and is predicted to
suffer the greatest negative effects of climate
change and would experience considerable
increases in temperature, decreases in rainfall,
and modifications to average wind speeds
(Zachariadis, 2012).
Cyprus is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea
and climate change has affected this island over
the last decades with a wide range of
consequences, such as changes in rainfall levels,
changes in temperatures, droughts, and extreme
weather events such as hurricanes and tornados,
which have affected the average wind speed in
this island. Besides, tornadoes were rare
occurrences in the Mediterranean region,
however, their number and strength have
increased (T-Vine, 2020, Agencies, 2020). On
January 27, 2003, four tornadoes with wind
speeds of up to 190 km/h impacted Cyprus. On
January 22, 2004, this region was hit by a number
of tornadoes with top speeds of roughly 140
km/h. (Sioutas et al, 2006). Additionally, a
windstorm with an 80 km/h wind speed was
recorded in North Cyprus on December 11, 2013
(Reşatoğlu et al., 2018). Overall, only 27.51% of
the island is free from storm risk, while 51.19%
of the island is at high risk of storms (Özşahin,
2012).
Extreme weather and climatic conditions have
destructive socio-economic and ecological
effects (Deryng et al., 2014; Ferrarezi et al.,
2019) and change typical weather characteristics
such as wind speed and wind load on buildings,
structures, and equipment, which led to many
injuries, fatalities, and great economic losses.
(Kassem et al, 2019b, Online News for North
Cyprus, 2020). As a result, severe adverse effects
of climate change in a variety of industries and
sectors should be anticipated in the future
(Zachariadis, 2012), serious negative effects of
climate change should be expected in the coming
decades and therefore, the consideration of wind
loads in the design of any type of structure has
become more important (Reşatoğlu et al., 2018,
Zachariadis, 2012).
According to data on human and financial losses,
windstorms are among the disasters that cause
the most financial harm, as the following figures
illustrate (Reşatoğlu et al., 2018).
Figure 1. Disaster frequency due to disasters between 1990 and 2014 in Cyprus (Reşatoğlu et al., 2018).
Wildfire, 11%
Earthquake, 11%
Storm, 22%
Drought, 22%
Extreme
Temperature, 34%
Resatoglu, R., Özsavaş Akçay, A., Ostovar Ravari, S. / Volume 11 - Issue 56: 169-182 / August, 2022
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Figure 2. Economic damage frequency due to disasters between 1990 and 2014 in Cyprus (Reşatoğlu et
al., 2018).
The objective of the work
PV panel mounting systems, especially those
installed on roofs, are exposed to strong winds
that can cause partial or total loss of the PV panel
arrays, possible damage to adjacent facilities,
human and financial losses, electricity shortages,
power outages, and damage to other buildings
(Naeiji et al, 2017). Therefore, trustworthy data
and proper wind load assessment on PV panel
mounting systems are essential for the safe,
efficient, and economical design of mounting
systems (Moravej et al, 2015). Based on the
recent works, the turbulence in the atmospheric
boundary layer, surrounding conditions, and
installation-related parameters, such as tilt angle,
array spacing, panel size, and position all have an
impact on the wind acting on PV panels (Li et al,
2022)
According to KIB-TEK (Turkish Electricity
Authority of Cyprus), the number of PV panels
installed in Northern Cyprus climbed by 855%
between 2014 and 2020, and the tendency to
install PV panels is growing daily. But ensuring
the safety of the panels and residents throughout
different conditions is a crucial issue.
In this study, wind loads on flat roof-mounted PV
panels are calculated using two different loading
standards; ASCE 7-16 (American Society of
Civil Engineers, 2017) and TS498 (Turkish
standard,1997), while the effects of span length
and building height on wind loads are evaluated.
Considered variables are illustrated in Figure 3.
Figure 3. Determined variables for wind load calculation (Author)
On the other side, mounting systems of PV
panels are designed and analyzed for installation
on flat roofs in Nicosia, North Cyprus, while
different parameters are taken into the account
such as the height of the building, span length,
column arrangement, load resisting system, and
the number of panels. The load analysis and
structural design are done according to the
related structural standards, the appropriate tilt
angle of panels, aesthetics, landscape, and
weather condition of the study area. The
procedures given in ASCE 7-16 are used to
calculate the loads, and AISC 360-16
(Specification for Structural Steel Buildings) is
followed for designing the steel structure.
The findings of the study identify the optimum
mounting systems of PV panels on flat roofs in
the study area based on the number and size of
PV panels, the best tilt angle for PV panels
according to geographical conditions, aesthetics,
Earthquake
30%
Storm
70%
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structural standards, the weight of the mounting
systems, and cost analysis.
Methodology
Selected codes
In this study, the methods presented in two
different standards are used to calculate wind
loads in rooftop PV panel installation systems.
TS498 is widely used in Northern Cyprus for
load calculations on various structures, and
ASCE 7-16 provides load calculations and load
combinations for the design of different types of
structures, especially rooftop PV panels. Wind
loads have been calculated using these two
standards by considering two different wind
directions, which are shown in figure 4. The wind
blows in the + X direction, creating uplift loads
on PV panels, hence it is known as uplift wind
load and the wind blows in the -X direction,
creating downward loads on PV panels, hence it
is known as downward wind load.
Figure 4. Uplift and downward wind load on PV panels (Author)
Wind load calculations based on TS498
According to TS498, the wind load on various
structures depends on wind affected area, net
wind pressure which relies on the height from the
ground, and aerodynamic load factor which relies
on geometrical properties and structural
conditions. According to this standard, the
magnitude of the wind load is calculated with the
following equation.

Where is Wind load resultant magnitude
(kN), Cf is aerodynamic load factor,  net
wind pressure 󰇛
󰇜 and A is the affected area
(m2).
Net wind pressure (q) can be calculated with the
following equation.


Where ρ is an air density (1.25 kg/m3), ν is the
wind velocity and given by the standard for
different heights. In addition, the standard has
provided a table and net wind pressure () can be
obtained considering the height of the structure
from the ground.
The aerodynamic load factor () depends on the
geometrical properties and tilt angle of the
desired surface and the condition of the area
where the building is located, which is obtained
from tables provided in the standard.
Wind load calculations based on ASCE 7-16
According to ASCE 7-16, the wind load on the
rooftop PV panels mounting system is calculated
by considering the risk category for rooftop
structures and rooftop equipment, determination
of the basic wind speed for the applicable risk
category, determination of wind load parameters,
including wind directionality factor ( 󰇜,
exposure category (A, B, C, or D), topographic
factor (󰇜, and ground elevation factor 󰇛󰇜,
velocity pressure exposure coefficient 󰇛󰇜.
Based on this standard, velocity pressure 󰇛󰇜 is
determined by the following formula.

The net pressure coefficient for rooftop PV
panels 󰇛󰇜 is determined using the parapet
height factor (󰇜, panel chord factor (󰇜, array
edge factor 󰇛󰇜, and nominal net pressure
coefficient 󰇛󰇜 for rooftop PV panels
which is determined using the normalized
building length ( ), Characteristics of the
building include mean roof height of a building,
width and length of a building, and normalized
wind area for rooftop PV panels (󰇜, and the
effective wind area ( ).The net pressure
coefficient for rooftop PV panels 󰇛󰇜 is
calculated using the following formula:
󰇛󰇜 󰇛󰇜
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The wind pressure for rooftop PV panels is
calculated by using the following equation.
󰇛󰇜
Modeling of PV panels and variables
Two different types of flat-roofed residential
buildings with the same available roof area (10m
× 20m) but two different orientations to the north
have been considered and rooftop PV panel
mounting systems are designed to be installed on
the roof of these buildings (Figure 5).
Figure 5. Plan view of the orientation of buildings to the north (Author)
PV panel arrays are installed at a distance of at
least 1 meter from the edge of the roof for
aesthetic reasons and to facilitate access. PV
panels in the Northern hemisphere should face
south, and the proper slope angle for PV panels
in this area (Nicosia, Northern Cyprus) is 31-32
degrees based on the Nicosia standards for
rooftop PV panels. In addition, an appropriate
distance must be provided between the panel
arrays to prevent the shadows of the panels on
each other. The calculations for the distance
between the arrays are as follows:
Figure 6. The distance between the arrays of PV panels (Author)

Where is the shortest side of the installation
system, is the highest side of the installation
system, is the solar elevation angle and is the
distance between two arrays.
Afterward, the optimal mounting system is
determined based on the weight of the mounting
system, the cost of the mounting system, and
aesthetics.
✓ Type I
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56 PV panels (7 rows of 8 panels) can be installed
on the roof of residential building Type I (Figure
5). 32 mounting systems are designed to support
56 panels on the roof of this type of building by
considering the following variables.
Figure 7. Variables considered in the design of mounting systems for (Type I) buildings (Author)
Type A and Type B of column arrangements are shown in figure 8.
Figure 8. Section view of the arrangement of columns: Type A and Type B (Author)
Variables considered in the
design of the models
Number of storeysa 3-storey building
7-storey building
Span length
2 meters (5 columns)
2 meters (4 columns)
3 meters
4 meters
Load resisting system Bracing system
Moment frame system
Arrangment of
columns Type A
Type B