Integrated Modular Mounting Apparatus

Abstract

An integrated mounting apparatus, primarily for solar panels and other renewable energy panels, which reduces the need for anchors in the rooftop and provides energy storage and conversion options. The mounting apparatus has a base, sides, a front, a back, and a top. It is generally wedge-shaped. It has a depression designed to fit photovoltaic and solar thermal panels. It has a number of mounting mechanisms, including ballast, tethers, and fasteners. It has a ballast cavity, which, when filled with water, can store energy and inter-change that energy with the building.

1 . A mounting apparatus comprising: a base member; a pair of side walls extending vertically from the base; a rear wall that extends upward from the base at an angle less than 90 degrees; a front wall that extends from the base member; and a top surface that extends from the front wall to the rear wall and is intersected by the two side walls. 
     
     
         2 . The invention as described in  1 , in which the shape of the mounting apparatus is wedge-shaped, with the front wall being the narrow part and the rear wall being the tall part. 
     
     
         3 . The invention as described in  2 , in which the mounting apparatus can be scaled, larger or smaller, to accommodate mounting needs. 
     
     
         4 . The invention as described in  2 , in which a multitude of mounting apparatus can be arranged such that air can pass under solar thermal panels. 
     
     
         5 . The invention as described in  1 , in which the mounting apparatus contains a multitude of ballast cavities. 
     
     
         6 . The invention as described in  5 , in which the bottom is treated or textured to increase friction between the mounting apparatus and the site to which it is mounted. 
     
     
         7 . The invention as described in  5 , in which the ballast cavities are filled with water. 
     
     
         8 . The invention as described in  7 , in which the water-filled ballast cavities are used to feed a heat exchanger. 
     
     
         9 . The invention as described in  7 , in which the energy stored in the water-filled ballast cavities is used to feed a thermo-electric generator, Stirling engine, Rankine cycle, or shaped-metal generator. 
     
     
         10 . The invention as described in  7 , in which the mounting apparatus is fed with air from underneath the roof, through a series of vents. 
     
     
         11 . The invention as described in  10 , in which one or more heat exchanger uses thermal heat from the air underneath the roof in conjunction with a heat exchanger to store thermal energy in the water filled cavities. 
     
     
         12 . The invention as described in  11 , in which one or more heat exchanger uses the stored thermal energy to warm air or water. 
     
     
         13 . The invention described in  12 , in which waste air from an air-conditioned building is fed into a heat exchanger to pre-condition the intake air into a rooftop air conditioner.