Snow on panels

Equaliser123

Expecting a lot of snow overnight. Anyone think of an easy enough way to keep the panels clear or is it simply a case of waiting for the snow to thaw?

rogerblack

Pressure washer, if the temperature is at zero, or not much below.
(be careful not to spray the backs of the panels.)

However.
The utility of this is questionable - January output is fairly minimal, and cloud tends to be quite high.

Equaliser123

rogerblack wrote: »

Pressure washer, if the temperature is at zero, or not much below.
(be careful not to spray the backs of the panels.)

However.
The utility of this is questionable - January output is fairly minimal, and cloud tends to be quite high.

Yeah, fair point. It's actually been quite a productive winter so far. I can just see it being one of those cold crispy bright days!

uklad_2

Hmm i have a 30 degree pitch and the snow slides of once it reaches a critical mass, gives the panels a clean to boot..

EricMears

Afraid my 17deg panels have retained much of their covering all week. snowline was gradually slipping down & had revealed top string of panels yesterday so output was about half what I'd have expected from recent weeks but expecting a slight coating again tonight and hence a few more zeroes.

If weather was any better, I'd probably walk around on the shallow roof carrying a hosepipe but not worth the risk of slipping off an icy roof for the couple of pounds a day I might gain.

WestonDave

At the moment its barely daylight due to the cloud and falling snow so I'm not worrying about generation losses! Might be my first zero day though! Hopefully as temperatures are only just freezing where we are, any slight rise will mean it slides off and gives them a nice polish on the way down!

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

EricMears wrote: »

If weather was any better, I'd probably walk around on the shallow roof carrying a hosepipe but not worth the risk of slipping off an icy roof for the couple of pounds a day I might gain.

If you do go up, make sure someone has a video camera. £250 from You've Been Framed will beat any generation you make all week.

Martyn1981

Fruit_and_Nut_Case wrote: »

If you do go up, make sure someone has a video camera. £250 from You've Been Framed will beat any generation you make all week.

Spot on. :rotfl:

There's about 50 people in the park opposite sledging, so I'm not popping out the Velux with my extendy pole till they go! Sleet due soon, and temp quite warm, so probably all be gone soon anyway.

Sky is full of white so generation probably close to zero anyway. But a nice sunny day with reflective snow, and I'd be out there like a flash.

Mart.

legoman62

Martyn1981 wrote: »

There's about 50 people in the park opposite sledging, so I'm not popping out the Velux with my extendy pole till they go! Sleet due soon, and temp quite warm, so probably all be gone soon anyway.

Sky is full of white so generation probably close to zero anyway. But a nice sunny day with reflective snow, and I'd be out there like a flash.

Mart.

Totally agree. I can reach the 1st row of 8 panels with a small pair of steps. The 2nd set need my home made cleaner. I find, if I clear the bottom 1/3 of the top row gravity takes care of the rest. (preferably while O/H + neighbours are not around);)

shafeeq

snow in panels. today at 3pm
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4BdMuNDbtffZnZ3NXRWREQxb2s/edit

penrhyn

Hopefully it wont fall off in a great big icy lump and smash through the conservatory.
In years gone by houses with conservatories had snow guards fitted above.