How To Clean Solar Panels From Snow
In this case snow will melt and run off on its own the steeper it is the faster snow will essentially glide off.
How to clean solar panels from snow. Installing your solar panels on a south facing roof not only ensures you ll see the best energy production as the panels face directly towards the sun but snow will also melt faster. When cleaning solar panels it is essential to use the right cleaning equipment. With our innovative solar program homeowners can go solar for 0 up front cost save money on their electric bills and generate their own clean energy. Some of these have an anti snow feature which can detect snow cover and temporarily increase the temperature of the system in order to melt it.
If snow persists on your panels you can also invest in tools like a solar panel snow rake which makes it easy to safely remove snow covering on solar panels. Some of us love it and some of us hate it but if you live in the mid atlantic states it s often an inescapable part of the winter months if you ve installed solar you may be wondering how snow on your panels will impact your output and what you can do to take care of them. Heavy snow can limit the amount of energy produced by solar panels but light is still able to move through the snow and forward scattering brings more light to the solar cells than one might expect. Even when solar panels are completely covered by snow they can still generate electricity.
The solar panels installed on your home are american made and come with a 30 year warranty with many panels expected to last well beyond that. Even though the panels will be covered with snow the dark black and blue will absorb the heat from the sunlight and encourage the snow to melt faster than if your panels were installed on an east or west. It is important not to use a standard broom shovel or other non specialized tool to remove snow from panels as they can scratch the panel glass and lower your power production. The same study also found that rain is not a satisfying way of cleaning solar panels.
But first let s look at when and why you might need to invest in solar panel cleaning equipment or hire a professional cleaning service. Some solar arrays can be installed at steeper angles than others. If you are considering a new solar power system you might want to have a look into self cleaning solar cells. They found that cleaning the solar was the number one way to maximize the energy they produce cleaning solar panels that had been in operation for 15 months doubled their output of electricity.
Google did a study on the need to clean solar panels.