Re: [AFMUG] The dreaded annual "how to keep snow and ice off my solar panels" thread

Have you tried inverted panels? (Most on this list have probably heard this story before.) I had a mountain top site that lost about half of its power production after a big storm. Flew over it and found that one set of panels had come loose at the top and flopped over so they were facing the

Re: [AFMUG] The dreaded annual "how to keep snow and ice off my solar panels" thread

Wasn't this sort of Solindra's idea? Tube shaped solar "panels" with a white reflective surface underneath so that no matter the angle some part of the panel was always getting light. It took more "tubes" but removed the hassle of having to worry about angles and time of day. On Tue, Sep 22,

Re: [AFMUG] The dreaded annual "how to keep snow and ice off my solar panels" thread

Yeah, their solar panel was a thin film rolled into a tube. They slid that into a glass tube and injected some kind of oil in between. The modules were arrays of tubes with a gap between tubes. They were better at constant out put, but they were really bad on watts per square foot and

Re: [AFMUG] The dreaded annual "how to keep snow and ice off my solar panels" thread

Trading money for hassle. Hassle won. On Tue, Sep 22, 2015 at 9:25 AM, Chuck McCown wrote: > Yeah, their solar panel was a thin film rolled into a tube. They slid > that into a glass tube and injected some kind of oil in between. The > modules were arrays of tubes with a gap

Re: [AFMUG] The dreaded annual "how to keep snow and ice off my solar panels" thread

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

Re: [AFMUG] The dreaded annual "how to keep snow and ice off my solar panels" thread

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

Re: [AFMUG] The dreaded annual "how to keep snow and ice off my solar panels" thread

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

[AFMUG] The dreaded annual "how to keep snow and ice off my solar panels" thread

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.

Re: [AFMUG] The dreaded annual "how to keep snow and ice off my solar panels" thread

+1000 on the frothpack. We applied it (per chucks recommendation) several years ago and it made a huge difference!!! Like I said earlier too, I'd highly recommend applying rainx which makes the panels slick. Between that and the extra heating from the insulation our panels produce a

Re: [AFMUG] The dreaded annual "how to keep snow and ice off my solar panels" thread

We spray foam insulation on the back of our panels and it works great. Once you get even a slight amount of sunlight even if it's -20 out the snow and ice will slide right off. We also apply rainx to the panels to make them more slick. -Sean On Sunday, September 20, 2015, Steve D