Winter Worries for Solar

Winter Worries for Solar

Well, here is a subject I could hardly pass up this time of year.  In the Northeast, we have seen record amounts of snow this year, especially on rooftops.  In New England we have had unprecedented amounts of roof and building collapses.  I can't remember the last time we have had constant snow on the ground and on roofs for the better part of two months.  What does this mean for your solar system?  Most years on the East Coast, in most areas, it snows a little, melts, then snow a little more and melts again and so on! Not this year. With record accumulations and consistently low temperatures, we have not seen our lawns in months.

This presents two problems: 1)  snow covering the solar panels and  2) snow load on your rooftop. 

I have had customers in prior years concerned with the lack of production from their solar system because it was covered in snow for a few days.  Well, the truth of the matter is that up until now, how much did this really impact your electrical output?  1st) the system better be on the sunny side of your roof so it will probably be the first snow to melt, 2nd)  panels have a coating on them that helps rain and snow slide off the panels, 3rd) because most panels are a dark color, they heat up very quickly.  So what did the owner lose in electrical production?  A few days in the lowest producing months?  How much electricity is really lost in most states that have snow in the winter?

Well, guess what, in the Northeast and other parts of the US, we have system owners that haven't seen their panels for a month or longer.  How about all those PPA's (power purchase agreements) on those big flat commercial roofs with panels laying flat or with only a slight pitch?  How are those payoffs being affected?

So what is the solution you ask?  Well let me take a stab at a couple of suggestions.

The roof rake - In the Northeast, we were reacquainted with a handy item called the roof rake!  Normally, hardware stores sell 4-5 of these lanky gizmos, but this year they were being sold in the thousands!!!  We even had local sheet metal shops making them.  People were literally waiting in line for hours to purchase this $60-$80 item.  They even make one with a squeegee-like strip at the bottom of the blade so you don't scratch the solar panels.

Snow and gutter ice melting systems -  This is only made of wire that generates a low, consistent heat that keep gutters and roof drains flowing.  The challenge with snow and ice melting on roofs is that it usually takes well into the afternoon on a typical sunny day because in most areas it refreezes overnight.  This little invention keeps everything flowing even in below-freezing conditions.  During one of our coldest 10 degree evenings, I checked on one of our buildings where I had installed cables and put my ear to the downspouts and could hear water flowing like a river.  This was music to my ears, since many buildings in the area were being evacuated.  These cables are easy to install and can be clipped to the shingles, gutters or roof drains.  But you might say that using all that electricity defeats the purpose of my solar system.  The fact is, they don't use that much electricity, and you can plug them in only when the conditions are extreme or only at night.

Pitch - Roof and panel pitch affect how your system sheds snow and ice.  Many solar racking systems make tilt kits to enhance the tilt of your panels so if you have a low roof pitch, you can use this kit to put more pitch on your panels.  We haven't heard much about these little buggers, but my guess is that we will see more attention to these gadgets starting this year.

Use of stand offs - Again most racking companies sell stand-offs that vary in size and generally raise the panels 3"-10".  This also increases airflow under the array thereby increasing electrical production in most cases.  Of course, there is an aesthetic trade-off and should be left up to the homeowner as the use of standoffs can make the system more noticeable from the street.

Finally, I should mention the obvious.  Hire a professional if you want someone to climb on your roof and clean off your panels.  This season, more homeowners were injured by falling off the roof than by any injuries incurred by a roof collapse.  No amount of kwh's are worth risking injury or death!  Be smart!

As a final note, as we all think about buying snow plows, snow blowers, roof rakes, melting systems in preparation for next year's terrible winter, guess what, we will probably be pulling out the golf clubs instead!  Welcome to the East Coast!