Vertical panels is something we're experimenting with as well. Started ignoring "optimum" angles years ago and pushed the panels as steep as they would go with existing hardware (about 80-85) but it's amazing what will still stick. Last winter we had a freezing rain that built up ice on the bottom metal lip around the glass and the wet sticky snow that followed built up 4-5 inches on top of that, even at those angles. (Last year was honestly the worst year for our solar sites in the last few years.)
We're in the process of beefing up and extending the angle brackets for the racks at two sites so that we can go all the way vertical. I think snow will be fine at one of the low elevation sites, but the high elevation I still half expect to see them covered in hoar frost. On Mon, Sep 21, 2015 at 1:17 PM, Eric Kuhnke <e...@kuhnke-international.com> wrote: > If you're off grid and at latitude 35N or higher... The one thing you > should care about is cumulative kWh production in December and January. > > Try putting the panels at an 85 or 90 degree tilt (yes, really) facing due > south. You will produce a lot less in June/July but your winter production > will be maximized. This also has the effect of ameliorating snow and ice > buildup thanks to gravity. > > The US DoE NREL and other sources have a lot of research on latitude vs. > angle tilt of solar panels. Ignore everything intended for gridtie > applications and stuff like "tilt the solar panels at the same angle as > your latitude". There are some online calculators like pvwatts that will > show you your December and January production for a 45 degree tilt vs. an > 85 degree tilt. > > > > On 9/19/15 11:05 PM, Steve D wrote: > >> Maybe it's Saturday night exhaustion talking, but piping the exhaust from >> a standby generator toward the back of solar panels a bad idea? I'd expect >> it to not put heat on the panels in the summer except it's weekly exercise >> cycle but that shouldn't be too bad? LP too so shouldn't be any soot. Or >> would this just create one little hole of open panel and a pile of ice? >> Bad in general for the panels? >> >> If I did this again, I'd put the damn thing directly under the panels... >> these Onan's get stinking hot. My little "cool running", comparatively >> speaking, portable yamaha's will melt a two foot radius of snow around them >> if they run for a good length of time, all this heat going to waste! The >> Onan would probably clear the whole rack if it was sitting right below it. >> >> Grumble grumble... snow... something, something, curse words... >> >> Cheers, >> >> Steve D >> >> >
