Solar tracker fastener coating
Zinc-nickel for panel fasteners and structure, with a controlled process to reach 1,500 hours in salt spray testing.
A structure installed for 25 years outdoors, with a fastener nobody will replace.
Photovoltaic structure fastening is a peculiar case: the part is cheap, the installation is very expensive to redo, and the asset stays exposed to weather for decades. The cost of the coating is irrelevant next to the cost of going back to the roof with a crew and equipment.
That is why the choice here is not made on the price of the bath, but on the horizon. Electrolytic zinc sits between 200 and 300 h of salt spray; the zinc-nickel base runs from 900 to 1,000 h; and with the alloy in the upper range, passivation and sealer, the controlled process reaches 1,500 h.
In a coastal plant the arithmetic gets harder still, because the salt spray is permanent. It is the scenario where the difference between protection levels decides whether there will be maintenance in the middle of the project’s life.
What we apply in this sector.
