Try putting a 12/24/48 vdc heating pad in the center of the panel under it. Not a large one. Low amps but good heat. Have a timer to run it when the sun is up and on the panels. The power you make with the panels cleared sooner will make up the power to heat the panel up to start the melting.
Nice tip. I usually just go out with a push broom and knock the snow off of my panels. I do not worry about getting them perfectly clean since, as you have demonstrated, the snow will rapidly melt off on its own once the panels get some direct exposure.
Slick, If ya do it at the top I think the heated melt would soak down and clear even faster. If you wanted to get crafty could position a few mirrors on a post somewhere to shine condensed light at the top of the panels and never have to scrape again :D for free.. otherwise a heated blanket at the top of the underside of those could be kicked on for a bit to melt the tops too. Something as simple as a nitrous oxide auto racing tank blanket warmer or anything comparable.
I like the mirror idea. I am going to try that the next time it snows. We are off grid the blanket would pull to much off our batteries. Thanks for sharing.
They make plastic snow removal tool for roofs. Or, you could cut down a plastic snow shovel and mount it at 90 deg to a wood pole. Quick work of pulling the snow off.
mine are ground mounted, so I use a window cleaner pole and the cloth attachment. But I just use it when there is more then an inch or more of snow on the panels. Trick is not to scrape the panels and leave scratch marks. But yes if you can get some panel showing the sun and heat will do the rest. If there is ice then just make sure I get the loose snow off.
@@HippieHillHomestead It was abut 100.00 from Amazon, but well worth it. not an affiliate, but I certainly recommend it. But if I couldn't afford it, I would certainly make one of those PVC poles with the pool noodle at the business end.
I agree that all it takes is a spot for the light to hit the panel.. Between the direct heat transfer and the indirect of the energy being created with nowhere to go except be resistively dissipated by the adjoining cells they can clear off fast.. Problem is when you get a foot+ of snow on them and they are on a roof scraping off that deep snow can be hours of labor with a foam scraper and a pole.. I saw a guy use a length of rope to pull a huge layer of snow off a metal roof and wonder if I could set a rope up there with my pole and get it to undercut the snow and pull it off without busting something??
I tried a rope years ago when we got more snow and it kept getting caught on my brackets that hold the panels down. Maybe I used to small of rope. I might try it with a half inch rope. We have a few panels on our roof and I cleared a small spot at the bottom of them( That is the only place I could reach safely from a ladder) and it took a little over 2 hrs for them to melt 6 inches of snow. Thanks for the idea.
What if you had plastic sheet conveyor belt with rollers at the top and bottom of the frame, a small dc motor, and a light sensor near the bottom? If snow covers it, it rolls (towards the bottom of the frame to dump off all the snow) until the sensor gets light. Just an idea to automate it so you dont have to scrape off sections in super cold temps :)
use a spraybottle of windshield washer fluid. And spray that on them. you need a good spray bottle, One with a adjustable sprayer. the snow will come off in like 5 minutes.
I have done exactly that! First disconnect panels from the inverter. Then apply 240 VAC to a Variac, then a bridge rectifier. that controllable current is fed to the panels.
Most panels have blocking diodes that keep the power from "reversing". I guess if you bypassed the diodes then you could melt the snow that way. Thanks for sharing.
Excellent advice! Thank you.
Your welcome. Thanks for your kind words.
Try putting a 12/24/48 vdc heating pad in the center of the panel under it. Not a large one. Low amps but good heat. Have a timer to run it when the sun is up and on the panels. The power you make with the panels cleared sooner will make up the power to heat the panel up to start the melting.
Great idea I will have to find one and run some tests. Thanks for sharing.
Nice tip. I usually just go out with a push broom and knock the snow off of my panels. I do not worry about getting them perfectly clean since, as you have demonstrated, the snow will rapidly melt off on its own once the panels get some direct exposure.
Yep works great. Nice, simple and very little effort. Thanks for sharing 👍
Slick, If ya do it at the top I think the heated melt would soak down and clear even faster. If you wanted to get crafty could position a few mirrors on a post somewhere to shine condensed light at the top of the panels and never have to scrape again :D for free.. otherwise a heated blanket at the top of the underside of those could be kicked on for a bit to melt the tops too. Something as simple as a nitrous oxide auto racing tank blanket warmer or anything comparable.
I like the mirror idea. I am going to try that the next time it snows. We are off grid the blanket would pull to much off our batteries. Thanks for sharing.
Now that was interesting
Thank you.
They make plastic snow removal tool for roofs. Or, you could cut down a plastic snow shovel and mount it at 90 deg to a wood pole. Quick work of pulling the snow off.
Thanks for sharing. I will have to look into that tool
mine are ground mounted, so I use a window cleaner pole and the cloth attachment. But I just use it when there is more then an inch or more of snow on the panels. Trick is not to scrape the panels and leave scratch marks. But yes if you can get some panel showing the sun and heat will do the rest. If there is ice then just make sure I get the loose snow off.
You shouldn't have to worry about scratching tempered glass. I use a spade shovel to scrape mine.
@@masterx11a gotcha.
Great idea. To clean your panels. Thanks for sharing.
@@HippieHillHomestead It was abut 100.00 from Amazon, but well worth it. not an affiliate, but I certainly recommend it. But if I couldn't afford it, I would certainly make one of those PVC poles with the pool noodle at the business end.
Thanks for sharing. I will check it out.
I agree that all it takes is a spot for the light to hit the panel.. Between the direct heat transfer and the indirect of the energy being created with nowhere to go except be resistively dissipated by the adjoining cells they can clear off fast.. Problem is when you get a foot+ of snow on them and they are on a roof scraping off that deep snow can be hours of labor with a foam scraper and a pole.. I saw a guy use a length of rope to pull a huge layer of snow off a metal roof and wonder if I could set a rope up there with my pole and get it to undercut the snow and pull it off without busting something??
I tried a rope years ago when we got more snow and it kept getting caught on my brackets that hold the panels down. Maybe I used to small of rope. I might try it with a half inch rope. We have a few panels on our roof and I cleared a small spot at the bottom of them( That is the only place I could reach safely from a ladder) and it took a little over 2 hrs for them to melt 6 inches of snow. Thanks for the idea.
What if you had plastic sheet conveyor belt with rollers at the top and bottom of the frame, a small dc motor, and a light sensor near the bottom? If snow covers it, it rolls (towards the bottom of the frame to dump off all the snow) until the sensor gets light. Just an idea to automate it so you dont have to scrape off sections in super cold temps :)
Now that would be sooo cool 😎 . What a great idea.
I CAN NOT REACH MY PANELS
I THINK OF "REVERSE POWER" FOR SHHORT TIME TO HEAT THEM UP ::: AND THEN THEY WORK AS USUAL
use a spraybottle of windshield washer fluid.
And spray that on them.
you need a good spray bottle,
One with a adjustable sprayer.
the snow will come off in like 5 minutes.
I have done exactly that! First disconnect panels from the inverter. Then apply 240 VAC to a Variac, then a bridge rectifier. that controllable current is fed to the panels.
Most panels have blocking diodes that keep the power from "reversing". I guess if you bypassed the diodes then you could melt the snow that way. Thanks for sharing.
@@HippieHillHomestead True, I simply applied the current in the direction that allowed current to flow.
How long does it take to melt the snow off. Thanks