Commercial Installation Types
Commercial solar is not one-size-fits-all. The right design depends on your building, your roof, your parking lot, and your energy profile. Here are the three most common approaches we use in Hawaii.
Rooftop Arrays
The most common commercial installation. Flat commercial roofs (warehouses, retail, office buildings) are ideal — they offer large unobstructed areas with no shading. On metal standing-seam roofs, we use clamp mounting that requires zero roof penetrations. On flat membrane or built-up roofs, we use ballasted racking or penetrating mounts with proper flashing.
Rooftop arrays are the most cost-effective option because they use existing structure. No additional land or construction is needed. For buildings like Y Hata's distribution facility or the Rose Street warehouse, we can cover 20,000–40,000 square feet of unused roof with panels generating 200–500 kW.
Solar Carport Canopies
Parking lot solar canopies serve double duty: they generate electricity and provide shaded parking for employees and customers. In Hawaii's sun, shaded parking is a genuine amenity — cars stay cooler and interior surfaces last longer. Retail tenants and hotel guests notice.
Carport structures cost more than rooftop arrays because of the steel support infrastructure, but they add capacity beyond what the building roof can hold. For retail centers and hotels with large parking areas, carports can double the total system size. They also keep panels at optimal tilt angles regardless of roof orientation.
Ground-Mount Arrays
When roof space is limited or structurally constrained, ground-mount arrays use available land adjacent to the facility. This is common on agricultural properties, large industrial sites, and facilities with older roofs that cannot support panel weight. Ground mounts allow optimal tilt angle and easy maintenance access.