the one set of panels are bifacials they will shed snow faster if you just keep straight up and down in winter. snow reflection on front and rear. best to have a shiny wall behind about 7 meters back more back reflection gain on sunny and cloudy days win win. give it a try👍👍
I have designed a ground mount that will never need clearing in the winter. Cheap and efficient. Its amazing how much energy you can store in a thermal mass.
I get this on my panels on my house all the time. when snow is more then 1 inch deep, I get out my snow rake[ has styrofoam head ] to keep form damaging panels . Its really hairy when I get 6 to 8 inches, and it all flies down on top of me when I break lower level panels free
We will as soon as we get more snow. What would you like to see @rabiabaloch6111? It has been an unusually mild winter with less precipitation vs last winter :)
How much snow would accumulate on such a steep tilt if not removed frequently? I am attempting to estimate worst case snow loads but this difficult to calculate so empirical data would be useful if I can find it.
Unfortunately we do not have any empirical data on how much snow would hold on this tilt, especially given the multitude of environmental factors at play. We recommend clearing these panels with a snow rake if at all possible.
A Southeast array will give much, much more production than an east array. I wonder if applying Rain X to the panels would allow it to slide off much easier. It works great on my vehicle windshields.
Always consider potential shading from trees or other structures in this approach. Due South is always your best option when in the Northern Hemisphere. An offset of 10-15 degrees from due south will have negligible difference in production.
I don't know why you want to hack your panels with that street brush. I never have to do that. when the panel starts generating power, it causes the ice and snow to melt. I have found that even a thick layer of snow shuts off the power supply almost completely, even though the voltage has risen to the level required by the charge controller. That thin layer of snow and ice - which does not come off by brushing - does not, in my experience, reduce the available power at all. I have done it by scraping all the ice stuck to the glass and the snow on its surface with a Japanese leaf from the entire area of the panel without scratching the glass. But when I look at the Victron's Power curve, I see no difference in wattage before and after de-icing. So the ice and the one-flake-thick layer of snow on top of it doesn't reduce the yield. Whatever the real explanation of the phenomenon, I have found in my numerous tests every time that removing the ice and one layer of snow stuck to it does not increase the yield at all. As long as the panel produces power, it heats up even in freezing temperatures and melts the ice on its own - as long as the output can start. Another interesting phenomenon is that the return on a slightly cloudy winter day is just as good as on a clear winter day. This is due to the fact that on a slightly cloudy day the sunlight does not heat up the panel as it does on a sunny day. As the panels heat up, their yield decreases, so a lightly cloudy day is just as good as a completely cloudless winter day.
Very interesting for us here in the tropics where we never get snow. Nice video, Greetings from sunny Jamaica.
You never know these days where the snow will fall! The weather patterns around the world are shifting 😉 Cheers
Sounds like a little gloating to me Lawrence. 🙂
the one set of panels are bifacials they will shed snow faster if you just keep straight up and down in winter. snow reflection on front and rear. best to have a shiny wall behind about 7 meters back more back reflection gain on sunny and cloudy days win win. give it a try👍👍
I have designed a ground mount that will never need clearing in the winter. Cheap and efficient. Its amazing how much energy you can store in a thermal mass.
Tell us more
Why not explain this ground mount if you're going to share that you have it? You know everyone is going to ask about what it is...
maybe with a dump in the forecast, tarp one of the arrays in advance :) the broom is certainly quicker the shoveling out the car and driveway
awesome thanks
I have used de-icer spray to.
I get this on my panels on my house all the time. when snow is more then 1 inch deep, I get out my snow rake[ has styrofoam head ] to keep form damaging panels . Its really hairy when I get 6 to 8 inches, and it all flies down on top of me when I break lower level panels free
Hi ...Please make a similar video this year as well...with thick snow,... thanks
We will as soon as we get more snow. What would you like to see @rabiabaloch6111? It has been an unusually mild winter with less precipitation vs last winter :)
removing snow from the panels@@raysolarmadeeasy
How much snow would accumulate on such a steep tilt if not removed frequently? I am attempting to estimate worst case snow loads but this difficult to calculate so empirical data would be useful if I can find it.
Unfortunately we do not have any empirical data on how much snow would hold on this tilt, especially given the multitude of environmental factors at play. We recommend clearing these panels with a snow rake if at all possible.
A Southeast array will give much, much more production than an east array.
I wonder if applying Rain X to the panels would allow it to slide off much easier. It works great on my vehicle windshields.
Always consider potential shading from trees or other structures in this approach. Due South is always your best option when in the Northern Hemisphere. An offset of 10-15 degrees from due south will have negligible difference in production.
@@raysolarmadeeasy Agreed, and of course directly towards the equator is always the best.
I don't know why you want to hack your panels with that street brush. I never have to do that. when the panel starts generating power, it causes the ice and snow to melt. I have found that even a thick layer of snow shuts off the power supply almost completely, even though the voltage has risen to the level required by the charge controller. That thin layer of snow and ice - which does not come off by brushing - does not, in my experience, reduce the available power at all. I have done it by scraping all the ice stuck to the glass and the snow on its surface with a Japanese leaf from the entire area of the panel without scratching the glass. But when I look at the Victron's Power curve, I see no difference in wattage before and after de-icing. So the ice and the one-flake-thick layer of snow on top of it doesn't reduce the yield. Whatever the real explanation of the phenomenon, I have found in my numerous tests every time that removing the ice and one layer of snow stuck to it does not increase the yield at all. As long as the panel produces power, it heats up even in freezing temperatures and melts the ice on its own - as long as the output can start. Another interesting phenomenon is that the return on a slightly cloudy winter day is just as good as on a clear winter day. This is due to the fact that on a slightly cloudy day the sunlight does not heat up the panel as it does on a sunny day. As the panels heat up, their yield decreases, so a lightly cloudy day is just as good as a completely cloudless winter day.