White stuff on my panels?

[windstuffnow]

   Twice now this has happened... Sun shinning brightly but no power...  This white stuff is getting all over them... its cold and hard to remove.

    I really don't like having to get up on the roof and remove the snow from the panels.  I figured as much as they cost they should have a built in removal system.   Also, since I have spent the money on them I want them to work whenever possible.

    I'm sure there is no quickie fix, what does everyone else do in the winter?  Shovel them or wait till spring?  

Having Fun... well not the shoveling part..

Windstuff Ed

[TomW]

Ed;

Forget where you live exactly but here at this time of year my panels are nearly vertical. This has 2 really cool effects.

1] the angle of incidence is about 90 degrees, giving me the highest output.

2] once the panel starts to warm up that nasty frozen stuff just slides right off. This does not apply to the bird crap.

Cheers.

TomW

[12volt dan]

Sorry Ed

 It's a part of life around here :^)

[bob golding]

how about a hosepipe across the top of them with holes in it going to a tank of  windscreen wash? run it down a gutter and  filter the bird crap out and send it back round?

bob golding

[baggo]

I would suggest just hose the snow off them if you can. Even if the water then freezes it will at least be transparent and allow some energy through. Once the panels start producing they will get warm and melt any remaining ice and snow off them. I'm like TomW. My panels are now nearly vertical so any snow should just slide off them (not that we get much snow here in the UK anymore!)

John

[wiredwrong]

Not sure how much it would drain the system, but what about the lines that are used to remove frost from the rear windows of cars? a couple of lines of this hopefully would not effect the collection ability of the panel, and would give you the ability of defrosting the panel, dont think it would melt away a heavy snow but it may melt the underside of the snow enuff to cause a heavier snow to slide off the panel if the angle of the panel was great enuff, I think you may be able use a small guage wire running down the panels flip a switch, melt the snow, shut off the switch faster than climbing up there, definitly safer than climbing onto a snow covered roof. I looked to see if I could find out if you could buy the same stuff tat is in the cars, all I was able to find is a repair kit by Loctite, How much white stuff are you talking about???

[richhagen]

Had the same problem, my panels are fixed mount and nearly flat.  Fortunately there wasn't much of the stuff here in Chicago in the City proper, and this yellow disc came up in the sky and took care of it for now.  If it snows heavy and sticks, I ususally brush or remove most of it, I don't scrape the panels, and then if that disc should happen to make an appearance it usually takes care of the rest within a day or so.  Rich Hagen

[Gary D]

Hi Ed, with snow removal I use wax on my snowblower and shovels. Keeps wet snow from sticking. Not sure if a fine coating of auto wax or candle wax would cut down on output over time tho... or a heat tape for rain gutters attached to the bottom of the panels to be pluged in as necessary... as with all my lame posts - try at your own risk. Solar panels aren't cheap! :-/ Gary D.

[mlz]

I would think that nicrome defroster tape around the border of the panel, say 1/2 inch in would work great.  Not sure, mine are also nearly upright this time of year, never really get much on them.

[Ungrounded Lightning Rod]

During the "white stuff" time try putting a box around the underside of the

panels and venting a little warm room air into the space until the white stuff

slides off.  Or put an incandescent lightbulb in there - near the bottom - and

turn it on until the white stuff starts to slide.

[ghurd]

It will usually melt off by noon. Mount the panels 10 degrees steeper than the latitude, it will help it slide off.

I've seen it melt off in 15'F by noon.

I try to mount them where they can be reached with a barn / shop broom.

G-

[windstuffnow]

  Lots of good ideas here.  Unfortunately I mounted them on my back barn, where the sun shines almost all the time, sun up to sun down.  Their almost flat in the summer and at 42 degrees in the winter although I should have gone a little more.   The mounting was sort of a temporary location for now, I'd like to put them on a pole with better directional control - mostlikely manual but havent ruled out the trackers.

  This time of year the snow is sure to melt down but I kind of like the idea of collecting everything I paid for. In a month or so it will be so cold nothing will melt. Water is not an option, using power to melt the snow doesn't seem real efficient but would work.

  I guess for this year I'll have to mount my ladder on the barn for easier access and sweep them off as needed manually... burrr.   I really dislike the cold.

Thanks for all the ideas !!!

Have Fun

Windstuff Ed

[ghurd]

I had a guy who wanted to mount windshield wipers to them.

He figured it would get enough off to let the sun melt the rest.

I half talked him out of it. He didn't seem up to the task, and I didn't want to do it and maintain it for him!

G-

[Snoprob]

Umnn - unproven ideas...

1. How much reverse current PV heating can one get away with w/o charring the little junctions? Zero?  okay - just a bad idea.
   
2. Minnesota gets alot of nuisance overnight dustings, so to max overcast PV returns...  Maybe use a leaf blower & attach roof guttering downspouts just enough to get the end near, 3-5-7 foot away from panels, and sweep it off from the ground. It'd have to be easier then climbing up there no matter how ridiculous it looks. For 20 feet the airflow would be restricted a bunch and you'd have to rig an outrigger rope on a spur to control the boom, but that'd get most garage, equip sheds, etc. PV installations clear.
   
   

Well - too much caffiene I guess.