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A modern take on the “hunting lodge/cowboy shack” • case study

June 10, 2021 | By Anthony Capkun


The main floor will be used as a workshop area with a tack room and riders’ lounge.

Photo courtesy S-5!. From EBMag May 2021 ed.

June 10, 2021 – Bruce Goode, a retired cattle-ranch owner and airline pilot, recently downsized and purchased a small 8-acre equestrian estate with mountain and lake views of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia.

The property features a new 3500-sf multi-purpose barn with a 24-gauge Cascadia Metals Black SMP standing seam metal roof.

The main floor will be used as a workshop area with a tack room and riders’ lounge. The upper floor, open loft area will be used as a “hunting lodge/cowboy shack”-themed retreat and entertainment area, complete with taxidermy mounts, in addition to a hobby/work area for gunsmithing, plus another area for exercising.

The owner’s goal was to construct a multi-purpose building that would also serve as a mounting platform for a 28.35-kW solar PV system, which would provide 100% of the electricity needs for the entire equestrian ranch property. He also needed a roof that would meet the expected 25-30+ year service life of the PV system.

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Because the barn is located in the northern hemisphere, Bruce needed to orient the roof and the solar panels for maximum solar gain.

Additionally, the property is located within a forest interface area, so a building constructed of fire-resistant materials was preferable. Furthermore, he wanted to reduce the risk of sudden and unexpected release of snow from his metal roof, potentially posing a threat to property and guests below.

The owner specified a standing seam metal roof, since it is the only roof type with a service life that actually exceeds the service life of a solar PV system. This should help him avoid premature array disassembly due to roofing concerns.

The ridge line of the barn roof was oriented exactly due East/West to afford maximum solar gain for the 90 solar panel system, which is mounted on the South-facing upper and lower roof surfaces.

The S-5-PVKIT 2.0 solar solution (in Black, to match the Black anodized PV frames) enabled solar installers to direct-attach PV modules to the standing seams, eliminating the need for a traditional rail mounting system, and providing a simple, economical and penetration-free method for attaching the solar modules.

The metal roof is non-flammable, non-combustible. In the event of a nearby wildfire, it will not spark and ignite into flames, which helps the owner save on insurance premiums.

Additional reading

In the low-slope market sector, the empirical field data/lab analysis study published by the Metal Construction Association indicates the service life of coated steel standing seam metal roofing (SSMR) is in the range of 70 years. Steep-slope (a.k.a. “architectural”) coated-steel roofing is expected to have a similar service life, with the possible exception of some pigmented finishes. Other metals have even greater service lives. Visit tinyurl.com/3ync3v6c.


This case study—along with other great content—appears in the May 2021 edition of Electrical Business Magazine. Even more back issues are located in our Digital Archive.


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