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Interesting. Last winter my parents' rooftop solar had zero output until April, as it produces nothing until all the panels are clear of snow. Granted their ins
by distances 4y ago
Interesting. Last winter my parents' rooftop solar had zero output until April, as it produces nothing until all the panels are clear of snow. Granted their installation is at a fixed angle that matches the roof, and this is in the Nordics.
During summer months the production mostly covers and partly exceeds their use, but the sell price is so much lower that it doesn't even begin to pay for the rest of the year. But that of course then relates to the installed capacity.
- xyzzyz 4y agoI wonder if it makes sense to build some simple resisting heating elements into the panels, to allow the snow to slide off. Shouldn’t use all that much energy to run it occasionally.
- dwiel 4y agoYou can actually push a bit if current backwards through the cell to heat it up. Some people have tried this but not sure about what prevents this from being more wide spread https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/03/18/heating-solar-panels-to-clear-snow/ https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/03/18/heating-solar-panels-...
- jonstewart 4y agoSo much of this discussion depends on where you are. In the US, a typical solar installation is on the pitched roof of a house. When the sun comes out, the dark roof and PV panels heat up, and the snow slides off. Rowhomes or apartment buildings in a city might have flat roofs with panels mounted on racks, but most US cities won't get enough snow often enough for this to be a problem.
- distances 4y agoMy parents do have a traditional pitched roof. Winter sun is not warm enough to warm up anything, even if dark, until late winter. Plus the color of course is white if it's covered in snow :) Yeah very much location dependant.