In modern society, distributed photovoltaics are widely used, and overhead photovoltaic roofs are favored for their many advantages; however, they are vulnerable to failure during high-wind events. Parapets are common auxiliary structures on building rooftops. Wind tunnel testing was employed to investigate the effects of parapet configurations on wind pressures acting on overhead photovoltaic (PV) roofs. Results show that wind suction dominates, with maximum negative pressure consistently at the windward corner leading edge. A solid parapet significantly increases the maximum mean pressure coefficient, whereas perforated parapets have little effect. In most cases, parapets reduce fluctuating pressure coefficients. Extreme pressure distribution exhibits significant regional characteristics, with the most unfavorable area at the roof corner. The solid parapet increases unfavorable extreme values at the corner. Horizontal and rectangular grid parapets reduce extreme pressure coefficients at the high-eave corner with minimal impact on the low-eave corner, while the vertical parapet increases values at the low-eave corner. Under the conditions of this experiment, among the four parapet types, the horizontal and rectangular grid parapets have little effect on the mean wind pressure and significantly reduce the peak wind pressure, thereby helping to ensure the wind resistance safety of the photovoltaic roof.
Hu et al. (Fri,) studied this question.