Finland-based Vaisala, a global leader in weather, environmental, and industrial measurements, embarked on a visionary project to erect a cutting-edge U.S. headquarters in Louisville, Colorado, showcasing its unwavering dedication to sustainability. S-5!, a global leader in metal roof attachments, helped them to achieve their goals.
The project encompassed the construction of a new building seamlessly integrated with the existing one, fostering a fluid indoor-outdoor campus designed to cater to customers, employees, researchers and partners alike.
Inspired by the sleek, minimalist design ethos of their Scandinavian headquarters, the new structure embodies modernity while prioritizing eco-consciousness. Notably, the project achieves net-zero energy through a fusion of sustainable design features. Among these are a state-of-the-art, 492-panel rooftop solar array, a highly efficient VRF mechanical system (HVAC), and a striking, vertical, double-skin curtain wall facade, all meticulously orchestrated to minimize energy consumption.
The building incorporates a pre-existing 101kW tilted solar array on the lower south building’s TPO roof, the S-5-U Mini/Unirac rail-based solar racking system on the upper standing seam metal roof, and a vertical façade standing seam wall-mounted array secured in place utilizing the S-5! PVKIT rail-less solar mounting solution. Together, the metal rooftop solar systems produce 228kW.
The owner desired a sleek-looking, low-profile system that would complement the look of the roof and the high-end, architecturally designed building. The main challenge was to provide an aesthetically pleasing, vertically mounted solar PV array on the existing standing seam façade wall, including engineering sign-off on the solution. A conventional, heavy rail-mounted system was deemed unsuitable for the façade wall.
The façade mounted array not only needed to look impressive, as it would be highly visible for those who arrived at the Vaisala building, but it also needed to withstand tremendous wind loads. This area of Colorado experiences around 145 mph wind speeds and Category C exposure so Vaisala needed a system that could withstand extreme wind conditions.
“When we started the façade-mounted portion of this project, we worked through our options and knowing aesthetics were a top priority for the customer, the PVKIT solution was a natural choice,” said Briana Morris, commercial principal engineer at Namaste Solar. “We had yet to dip our toes into rail-less solutions on the commercial side as we were concerned about wire management for the field. With a little pre-planning, before placing modules, it turned out to be a non-issue. Our crews loved installing this system and said they would be perfectly happy installing more projects just like this.”
The customer sought the most aesthetically pleasing, lightweight, and wind-resistant solution for vertically mounting its solar array to a standing seam façade wall, without compromising the integrity of the profile. The solar mountings provided a low-profile, sleek solution to secure the solar array to the facade wall and enabled the owner to achieve a design engineered to withstand the region’s high winds. By directly attaching the PV to the seams, it provided installation efficiency and flexibility and distributed the load more uniformly into the structure.
The clamps perform a secondary function as wind clamps, often referred to as “External Seam Clamps” (ESC). These wind clamps measurably increase the roof’s wind uplift resistance capacity, preventing multiple modes of failure.
“Considering the uncommon forces being exerted on racking for a vertical array, having clamps with two set screws certainly helped alleviate concerns about clamps rotating under load,” said Ash Bowersock, Namaste Solar Commercial Technical Designer. “The low-profile of the S-5! PVKIT really helped with the wind loading and of course aesthetics.”
Over time, the solar system will offset 69% of the building’s electrical consumption. The project has achieved an impressive Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of 28, demonstrating exceptional energy performance. This achievement not only exceeds standard energy codes but also positions the headquarters as one of Colorado's foremost sustainable office buildings.
Project Team:
Architect: OZ Architecture
Structural Engineer: Brett Robinson of JVA Consulting Engineers
Solar Designer & Installer: Namaste Solar; namastesolar.com
Module Manufacturer: Hanwha QCell
Inverter Manufacturer: CPS
Roofing Contractor: B&M Roofing
Roof & Façade Wall Profile: Berridge Zee-Lock 24-gauge standing seam metal
Solar Mounts: S-5! PVKIT® in black, S-5-U clamp and S-5-U Mini clamp