“That was one good part of that project, the anchors held,” according to Tim Kraft of Kraft Roofing Company in Fairlawn, New Jersey. Kraft and his crew had installed 90 percent of the U2000 solar rooftop attachments for the project and most of the solar racking before the storm struck.

According to Joel Stanley, President of Anchor Products, “Contractors have reported installation times of eight times faster than the competition, without the need for penetrating the roof membrane or adding ballast.”

The roof membrane receiving the U2000 attachments was a fully adhered, reinforced 60 mil EPDM membrane. The 15.75 inch targets of the U2000 attachments were adhered to the roof membrane with butyl tape. The Schletter Solo5 solar racking system was attached to the rooftop with the U2000 solar attachment system from Anchor Products. The Schletter Gator Clamp held the racking system to the posts of the U2000 attachments.

The U2000 attachment system has passed rigorous testing to the ASCE 7-10 ASTM E330-02 (2010) TAS 1178 standards. The independent testing lab at Trinity ERD found the U2000 to have approximately 1,800 lbs of ultimate load capacity. The test results demonstrated the product can perform in wind events exceeding 180 mph due to the U2000’s high tensile strength and shear strength.

Weather warnings for Yonkers reported hurricane force winds and extreme wind gust were recorded in the vicinity of the 1 megawatt solar project. The multi-story building on which the Photovoltaic panels were installed are in the vicinity of the George Washington Bridge where Highway 7 crosses the Hudson River. Wind speeds recorded on the George Washington Bridge exceeded 90 mph during the worst of the storm.

The roof project did sustain damage due to flying debris and building materials which punctured the EPDM roof membrane, creating more than 32 holes that will need to be repaired. But neither the U2000 nor the Schletter solar racking system were damaged by Super Storm Sandy, according to Kraft.

Anchor Products, LLC, of Colleyville, Texas, developed the U2000 rooftop attachment product for ballast-free, non-penetrating roof membrane attachment of solar module racking systems. The U2000 is a lightweight equipment attachment system consisting of a weatherized steel plate with a 3/8” -16 x 1.5 ” tall stainless steel stud, which has been heat fused to a 15.75 inch by 15.75 inch (40 cm by 40 cm) thermoplastic (PVC or TPO) target. The U2000 attachment is designed to be installed without fasteners and is a highly wind-resistant enhancement for solar panel racking installations.