The 6-Point Checklist for Evaluating Your Next Solar Mounting System (Including Ironridge)

If you're a solar installer or EPC contractor evaluating a mounting system—whether it's for a commercial ground-mount or a residential roof job—you need a repeatable process. Not a sales pitch. Not a brand comparison. A checklist.

This is for the person who's been burned by a missing bracket on-site, or a manual that doesn't match the product. This is for the person who's had to re-engineer a racking layout because the spec sheet was wrong.

Below is a 6-item checklist I use when evaluating mounting systems, shaped by 4 years of reviewing deliverables at a renewable energy component supplier. I've used this to check everything from Ironridge solar mounts to specialty brackets from smaller manufacturers. It's not the only way to do it, but it works for me.

1. Start With the Drawings, Not the Sales Sheet

The first thing I do when I get a new mounting system sample—say, an Ironridge XR100 installation manual or a spec sheet for a Juniper AP45 mounting bracket—is check the engineering drawings. Not the marketing. Not the photos. The PDF with dimensions and tolerances.

What to check:

• Are there actual dimensions? Or just 'nominal' values?
• Are tolerances specified? (e.g., +/- 0.5mm on critical rail slots)
• Are material callouts specific? (e.g., '6005-T5 aluminum' vs. just 'aluminum')

I've seen a drawing that claimed a rail was 'compatible with standard clamps' but didn't specify the groove width. That's a red flag. If the drawing is vague, the product likely is too.

(Honestly, I'm not sure why some vendors ship products without releasing full dimensional drawings. My best guess is they're trying to prevent reverse engineering, but it makes my job harder.)

2. Verify Hardware Completeness Before Installation Day

This is the step that saves you from a site shutdown. When you receive a shipment of Ironridge solar mounts or any racking system, don't just count boxes. Open one and verify the contents against the bill of materials (BOM) in the manual.

My routine:

• Check flashings, L-feet, and brackets are the correct quantity and size.
• Count fasteners (bolts, nuts, washers). The difference between a 'complete' kit and a 'partial' one can be 4 missing bolts in a 100-bolt order.
• Put the components together on a bench. If the Juniper AP45 mounting bracket doesn't fit the rail slot in real life, you want to know now, not on a roof in July.

In early 2024, we received a batch of 200 flashings where the prepunched hole pattern was off by 2mm from the spec. Normal tolerance is +/- 0.5mm. The vendor claimed it was 'within industry standard.' We rejected the batch, and they redid it at their cost. Now every contract includes flash tolerances in the spec.

3. Confirm Weld and Surface Treatment Quality

If you're dealing with steel components or custom aluminum fabrications, get the quality report. I ran a blind test with our install team a few years back: same bracket design from two different suppliers. 85% identified Supplier A's bracket as 'better built' without knowing which was which. The cost difference? About $0.15 per piece. On a 5,000-run, that's $750 for measurably better perception and fewer callbacks.

What to ask for:

• Weld inspection reports (visual + dimensional).
• Surface treatment specs (anodizing thickness, galvanization weight per m²).
• Salt spray test hours (e.g., 1,000-hour ASTM B117 for coastal installations).

4. Check the Documentation for Installation Sequence

A good manual isn't just a PDF with pictures. It's a clear sequence of steps that your crew can follow without calling the manufacturer. When I review an Ironridge XR100 installation manual, I look for:

• Explicit torque values for every bolted connection.
• Overlap and flashing installation sequence for roof mounts.
• End-clamp and mid-clamp placement requirements (they matter for wind uplift).

If the manual says 'install per standard industry practice'—that's a warning sign. Standard practice varies. Write it down.

5. Verify Compatibility Claims (Don't Assume)

If a vendor says their rail is compatible with multiple module widths or a specific bracket model, ask for the test report or the dimensional check drawing. I've seen claims of 'universal compatibility' that turned out to be 'works with 80% of frames if you adjust the clamp position.'

For example, when checking if an Ironridge rail will work with a Juniper AP45 mounting bracket, I'd want to see a measured drawing of both parts together, not just a photo. A photo can hide a 1mm gap that will cause vibration or failure over 25 years.

6. Don't Let Small Order Size Mean Low Quality

I've seen too many installers who are just starting out get treated poorly because their first order was for a single residential job—maybe just 10 rails and 50 brackets. Some vendors won't even return a call for an order under $500.

This is a real problem.

When I was first working in procurement, the suppliers who treated my $300 orders seriously are the ones I now trust for $30,000 orders. It's not about charity. It's about the fact that a small customer today is proof that your product and service work. If you're a vendor and you can't provide a proper spec sheet or a complete kit for a small order, you're not just losing that sale—you're losing a reference installation.

What to look for in a vendor (this applies to Ironridge and others):

• Do they offer the same quality of documentation for a 50-unit pilot as for a 5,000-unit order?
• Can you get a single XR100 rail or a Juniper AP45 bracket for prototyping without a minimum quantity?
• Does their customer service treat your technical questions with the same seriousness regardless of order size?

If the answer is no, that's a red flag. A good mounting system should be accessible for a trial run. Small doesn't mean unimportant—it means potential.

Final Thoughts: What This Checklist Misses

This checklist is based on my experience evaluating commercial and residential mounting systems on paper and in the field. It worked for us, but our situation was a mid-size contractor with predictable ordering patterns. If you're a large EPC dealing with multi-megawatt ground-mounts, you'll need to add structural wind load verification and UL 2703 listing checks (and honestly, I'd defer to your PE for that).

And if you're evaluating a system for a government solar panel program with specific domestic content requirements, double-check the certification documents. That's a different kind of checklist entirely.

Bottom line. Use this checklist. Adapt it. And if you find a vendor that passes all six points—and treats your small order like it matters—keep them.