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In snowy climates, brushing off panels is a pain in the ass and heating solutions result in net neutral generation for the most part, so there’s no point. In he
by halfmatthalfcat 4y ago
In snowy climates, brushing off panels is a pain in the ass and heating solutions result in net neutral generation for the most part, so there’s no point. In heavily overcast climates, recouping costs from installation takes dramatically more time. Wind is ubiquitous and doesn’t run into these problems…
- Steltek 4y agoWho brushes off their panels? Snow comes crashing down off mine within 24 hours of the storm. The whole house shakes in a very unnerving manner as it hits the porch roof. How do you brush off snow without risking damage anyway?
- micromacrofoot 4y agoI never brush snow off my panels. It slides off after a couple days at worst (and does a nice job of cleaning in the process). TBH I don't really care because my production is very low in winter anyway.
- teeray 4y agoNot my experience in northern NH. It snows, then the panels are covered for maybe a day, then it all slides off like an avalanche. It’s like having a metal roof. I’m not sure how a wind turbine would fair with winter weather. I would think they could be subject to icing like any other propeller—-reducing their output and possibly creating mechanical damage. Aviation has certainly thought about that problem a lot, so there might be solutions.