<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">My students and I ran some very basic tests on some different versions of melting snow and none of it worked or was mathematically feasible. This was back on 2012 so I can’t recall all the particulars, I might have some files in my office. <div><br></div><div>Like was mentioned in a previous post, steep tilt works best. We just had a bunch of snow here and at the school the 22 degree array and the 32 degree array are covered in snow, the 50 degree had some minimal snow that looked to be stuck from wind but it slid off this afternoon and the 60 degree array was always clear. </div><div><br></div><div>I’ve always noticed that if the first snow of the fall melts and causes that water to freeze on the frame lip of the module it’ll hold snow there as the winter goes on. That was the one thing the old silicon energy module had going in its favor! </div><div><br></div><div><br><div dir="ltr">Sent from my iPhone</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Dec 5, 2024, at 7:51 PM, Howie Michaelson via RE-wrenches <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="auto">Todd, <div dir="auto">In general that had been my philosophy, but sometimes pole mounts are just logistically to difficult/ expensive - especially large ones. In general, if it is a windy location, the snow doesn't stick around that long. However, even pole mounts at a steep angle can get encrusted and if it doesn't get warm enough or sunny, that can stick on the panels for a week or more. I've never considered anything like heat panels or tape, but if there is something that works that doesn't harm the panels, then it might be a decent option in some cases. </div><div dir="auto">Howie</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, Dec 5, 2024, 5:15 PM Todd Cory via RE-wrenches <<a href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org">re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><font face="georgia" size="2"><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px;font-family:georgia;font-size:10pt">Passive works best. In big snow country here, I learned the hard way to only do pole mounts... and set the angle steep in the winter. The snow slides off and all is fine.<br><br>Todd<br><br><br><br><br></p>
<p style="margin:0px;padding:0px;font-family:georgia;font-size:10pt">On Thursday, December 5, 2024 1:01pm, "Kirk Herander via RE-wrenches" <<a href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>> said:<br><br></p>
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<div><a href="https://glasscareexperts.com/solar-glass-protection/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">https://glasscareexperts.com/solar-glass-protection/</a></div>
I’ve never tried it but just heard about these people. From the bio they are the original makers of rain X, but they customized a product, several of them, to clean Pv panels and they also mentioned it can help to shed rain and snow.</div>
<div>By the way, Rainx is not approved for such an application.</div>
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<div class="gmail_attr" dir="ltr">On Thu, Dec 5, 2024 at 2:19 PM Howie Michaelson via RE-wrenches <<a href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>> wrote:</div>
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<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Has anyone successfully used heat panels or cables to melt iced-over panels (ie. without damaging the panels)? In heavy snow country, or over periods of freeze/thaw when pelty slushy snow sticks and freezes to panels, it would be nice to have a safe method of clearing them, especially off-grid. I remember discussions of the futility of backfeeding panels to heat them up to accomplish the same, but not about heat tape or pans that might be worth trying.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Thanks,</div>
Howie Michaelson</div>
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<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Sun Catcher</div>
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