Will Snow Affect My Solar Panels?

With the widespread popularity of solar energy system installations, people pay more and more attention to the overall quality of the solar system. Almost all solar photovoltaic system users hope that their solar systems can work normally in winter when the sunlight is not very strong and provide them with enough electricity.

 

In fact, if you want to ensure that your solar system works throughout the year, you must determine that your solar panels are efficient, because they are the key to the entire solar system operation.

 

A number of studies have shown that solar panels can operate in winter. However, due to the temperature and sunlight exposure, the output power of the panel will be lower than that in summer peak. If you live in an area with snow in winter, the solar panels will temporarily reduce or turn off the output power. In other words, solar panels have more sensitive efficiency at lower temperatures because they can control the absorption time autonomously and prevent themselves from being damaged when the temperature changes.

 

To learn more about how solar panels behave under snow, we ask the following questions:

 

 

 

1. How do Solar Panels Work in Snow?

Normally, solar panels cannot generate electricity when they are covered by snow. Fortunately, the solar array will automatically degrade snow. Since solar panels are generally installed on sloping roofs to absorb sunlight, the sloping solar panels can speed up the melting of the snow while increasing the reflectivity of sunlight.

 

It is undeniable that snow will indeed cause a decline in the output of solar panels, but the annual loss of the overall output is very small and will not affect their popularity in the market at all.

 

If you still have doubts about this situation, you can ask the solar supplier to evaluate your system for free. A reliable solar supplier will get an estimated output value of a solar system based on the average snowfall in your area. You can calculate whether this estimated value meets your requirements.

 

 

2. Can You Clean the Snow on the Solar Panels by Yourself?

Nowadays, a lot of solar energy system users generally choose easy-to-use solar arrays and are willing to optimize their solar panels through their daily maintenance. If you're one of them, we've got some tips for cleaning up solar panels that can make you do more with less.

  

If you have a roof rake in your home, use it to clear the area under the panel so that snow can automatically slide down to that place. As long as there is no strong wind at that time, the sunlight will make the snow melt slowly and then slide down. Therefore, using a roof rake can speed up the sliding speed of snow to a certain extent.

 

If you have a solar water heater on your roof, you need to put a layer of insulation around the edge of the roof rake to prevent it from accidentally damaging the heater. The damage caused by your daily maintenance is not covered by the solar supplier's warranty.

 

 

Now we can see that solar panels can work well in any season. As long as we use solar panels reasonably, our life will be more convenient.