Development of structural design requirements for solar-paneled roofs in Finland according to Eurocodes

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master_Chen_Nuoya_2025.pdf (13.58 MB)

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School of Engineering | Master's thesis
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Date

2025-07-21

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Mcode

Degree programme

Master's Programme in Building Technology

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en

Pages

133

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Abstract

The integration of rooftop solar panels in industrial buildings is becoming increasingly common in Finland due to the rising demand for renewable energy. However, the Eurocodes currently lack specific structural design requirements for solar-paneled roofs, particularly regarding wind and snow loads. This thesis aims to develop appropriate structural design guidelines within the Eurocodes framework for industrial buildings with rooftop solar panels in Finland. The research begins with a comprehensive literature review, focusing on wind and snow load design approaches in the ASCE and Dutch standards, along with other relevant studies and materials, followed by the analysis and adaptation of Eurocodes to solar-paneled roof applications. Wind load design is explored through the assumption of tilted solar panels behaving as monopitch canopy roofs, while snow load analysis includes balanced, sliding, and drift loads. Multiple design scenarios are modeled using RFEM 5, with case studies comparing load effects and structural performance under Eurocode, ASCE, and Dutch standards. Results show that solar panels significantly increase structural demands, especially in truss and column components, due to altered load distributions. Finally, this thesis proposes practical structural design constraints and offers optimized member profiles to ensure safety, efficiency, and compliance with Eurocodes in Finnish conditions.

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Supervisor

Lin, Weiwei

Thesis advisor

Ecevitoglu, Cem

Keywords

solar-paneled roofs, Eurocodes, ASCE standards, structural design, wind loads, snow loads

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202508186193

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