A ground mount puts your solar panels on a frame in the ground instead of on your roof. On rural blocks around Bendigo it is often the better option, and sometimes the only sensible one.
When a ground mount is the better option
Roof space is fixed and it is not always in the right place. If your roof faces the wrong way, sits in tree shade for part of the day, is too steep, too fragile or already crowded, a ground mount lets us set the panels at the orientation and tilt that actually suits your site rather than the one your roof happens to have. On a rural block with sheds, pumps and irrigation to run, that flexibility is usually worth more than what you save on a roof install.
Ground mounts are also easy to reach. Cleaning, inspections and any later repair happen at standing height instead of up a ladder, which makes looking after the system simpler over its whole life. There is more space to work with, so the array can be laid out properly instead of squeezed into whatever the roof allows.
Types of ground mount
Standard ground mounts
A metal frame fixed into the ground on footings, holding the panels in rows at a set angle. Frames are usually galvanised steel or aluminium. The tilt is chosen for your site, and on some frames it can be adjusted by hand between seasons, although most people set it once and leave it.
Pole mounts
Several panels on a single pole, sitting higher off the ground than a standard frame. Useful where you want to keep the ground underneath clear, or where the array needs to sit above stock, crops or long grass.
Tracking systems
A tracker moves the panels through the day to follow the sun instead of holding them at one fixed angle. It adds moving parts, maintenance and cost, so it is worth doing the sums for your specific site before you commit to one.
Pile mounting
Instead of concrete footings, piles are driven straight into the ground with a ramming rig. It suits uneven ground, avoids most of the excavation and goes in quickly, which is why it is common on larger arrays.
Do you need a planning permit for a ground mount
You may. A ground-mounted system in Victoria can require a planning permit, and larger installations and solar farms generally do. It depends on your council, the zone your land is in, the size of the array and where it sits on the block. Check with your local council before you settle on a layout, because a permit requirement can change where the panels end up.
Do ground mounts cost more than roof mounts
Usually, yes. A ground mount needs its own frame and footings, and the cabling has to be trenched back to your switchboard, so there is work in a ground mount that a roof install simply does not have. Add a tracking system and the gap widens further.
What you get for the extra cost is a system pointed the right way with no roof compromises, which can mean more generation across the year and easier maintenance for the life of the system. Whether that is worth it comes down to your property, so it is a question to answer with figures from your own site rather than a rule of thumb.
Getting the design right
Our team design the system to fit your roof or a ground mount, whichever genuinely suits the property, and we size it from your last 12 months of electricity bills. If you have a block around Bendigo and you are not sure which way to go, book a solar assessment and we will come out and look at the site with you. You can also see the panels we install before you decide.
