Snow Vs Solar Panels

Solar panel performance in the snow.

Snow vs solar panels.

Solar panels are usually designed to allow as much snow as possible to slide off but heavy snowfalls have the potential to completely block your solar panels. It snows a lot. Heavy snow can limit the amount of energy produced by solar panels but light is still able to move through the snow and forward scattering brings more light to the solar cells than one might expect. Due to the settling of snow on the panels the solar modules and the mounting system can be highly loaded.

Most panels are tilted at an angle so snow will slide off on its own accord but that can take time. There is definitely less production in the winter months. Generally speaking solar panels are 20 c 36 f warmer than the ambient temperature. It is important to note that snow guards may slightly increase the amount of snow that sits on your panels which will reduce your power production.

Snow isn t heavy enough to have much of a negative effect on solar panels and will usually melt before it becomes an issue. Some years it seems like winter lasts for nine months. For one thing a flat angle of inclination can prevent the snow from slipping off. Snow has anti soiling properties and hence when it melts it takes with it any dirt on the panels.

This is the easiest and safest solution although it can take time for the weather to warm up enough to melt snow. This also means that when the sun rises the snow can easily melt and slide off. Although it is assumed that snow slides off the inclined solar pv panels it is not always the case. Solar panels need sunlight to produce power so if your solar panels are covered in snow they will not generate electricity.

Solar panels are dark and often installed on a tilted roof surface and snow will naturally melt and slide off of them. Even when solar panels are completely covered by snow they can still generate electricity. Due to this natural snow removal and the fact that cold weather helps electronics in your panels run more efficiently solar energy systems actually perform very well in the winter.