[RE-wrenches] Snow Guard Options

[Chris Sparadeo]

Thanks for the advice, all.

Obviously, no snow on an array is the best case scenario from a production
standpoint. Just for context, most jurisdictions in my state of
Vermont require snow guards on commercial sloped roofs above pedestrian
traffic. However, the situation I am working with is a residential dwelling
with an array three stories above a large back porch and I would like to be
methodical about not inadvertently killing someone via avalanche. Typical
VT snow loads vary from 20-80 psf.

It sounds like there might be room for innovative competition in this small
market dominated by Alpine.

Kindly,

Chris

On Wed, Oct 1, 2025 at 6:02 PM Garrison via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:

> Here in the Midwest I’ve had good luck with both Alpine and Snaketray, but
> our design snow loads are only 25-30 psf. We generally only use small
> sections of it over doors and to prevent damage to things like heat pumps
> below a large array that is close to the roof edge. I prefer Alpine, but if
> you have a small gap between panels the clamps shade the lower cells a bit
> on some panels. I have not seen a better option out there.
>
> Just an anecdote, but a customer who I helped (I didn’t do the original
> install) had his car in the driveway and shedding snow from his array
> totaled it. Luckily it was fully insured. Made me think more seriously
> about recommending snow guard even if it’s not perfect. Oh and maybe adding
> a disclaimer to the contract.
>
> Best,
> Garrison Riegel
> Celestar Solar
>
>
>
> On Oct 1, 2025, at 11:47 AM, Sam Haraldson via RE-wrenches <
> re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>
> 
>
> Chris,
>
> Where we install in our valley the average yearly snowfall is around 80
> inches and buildings are rated to assume a 50 lb per sq. ft. snow load.  As
> the elevation climbs out of the valley and into the mountains we're looking
> at 400 inches of annual snowfall and load ratings increase to around 200
> lb. per sq. ft.  We have installed hundreds of systems with Alpine
> Snowguards and earlier on we installed a few dozen Snake Tray guards.
>
> The Alpine snowguard product works well for our installs at lower
> elevations as it is limited in how much weight it can handle.  When you
> read their spec sheets closely they indicate that no more than 6" of snow
> should be allowed to accumulate on the array.  We had a banner snow year
> last winter and quite a bit of snow guard came out broken in the Springtime
> which has given us pause as to whether we should be installing it at all.
>
> Your question was whether there are better options and we have not found
> anything better than Alpine.  It is also honestly inadequate for where we
> live and have not been able to come up with an alternate solution.  When my
> home array avalanches it is an impressive event and if there was a walkway
> or doorway underneath it I would absolutely want something mitigating that
> which is the case for many of our clients so it's certainly a conundrum.
>
> Cheers,
> Sam
>
> [image: OnSite Energy] <https://onsiteenergyinc.com/>
>
> Sam Haraldson
> Operations Specialist
> 1515 N. Rouse Ave Bozeman, MT 59715
> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/1515+N.+Rouse+Ave+Bozeman,+MT+59715?entry=gmail&source=g>
> Locally owned and operated since 2012
> [image: B Corporation] <https://onsiteenergyinc.com/bcorp>
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