…they hold a lot more snow than you might think. So you need to be sure the weight of the snow won’t pull down whatever the net is suspended from. I know this – now – and sadly I also have experience in repairing the damage caused by not knowing it.
On the subject of snow and disadvantages, here’s what happens when you mount your solar panels way up high…
Good luck with the ice on that aluminum ladder, hoss. Say hi to the ladies in ICU for me. If you survive to get there.
Of course there are also advantages to mounting your solar panels high, when you live down in a hollow like I do. Everything’s a trade-off. But I don’t miss that ladder first thing in the morning.
I never considered anything but a ground mount for the new/old panels I put up last summer.
Because I can clean these off and be done with it.
We got heavy rain before it turned to snow overnight, and anybody who lives in snow country knows what that means. It’s easier to say ‘clean these off and be done with it’ than it is to do it. But if you scrape the thick stuff off, solar panels will rid themselves of ice before too long if you’ve got any sun at all. The sky’s still trying to decide if we’ll have any sun this morning, so I’m shutting back down now. Coffee!
Why not try a roof rake? Made of aluminum and the three sections make 18′ plus you’re height.You could reach those panels from terra firma. I took two feet of fuel line and slit it length wise to put on the blade for my skylights.Works like a squeegee,almost. Just an idea.
Strange, seeing snow/ice on a chimney pipe.
Good luck clearing the camo net without getting snow down the back of your neck. ;^) As for the roof solar panel snow issue there are tools to deal with that sort of thing. My home tends to collect snow on the roof so to deal with it I have a snow rake (similar to what Klaus mentioned) which I use 2 or 3 times each winter when there’s too much snow.
https://www.amazon.com/Snow-Joe-RJ204M-Twist-n-Lock-Telescoping/dp/B00ZNUCGQI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485277933&sr=8-2&keywords=Telescopic+Roof+Rake
When using one of these you simply need a light touch so there’s no risk of damaging the panels.
BTW Another great use for a roof rake is getting snow accumulation out from under vehicles when you get stuck. I have a second roof rake in my car (minus the extensions) for this reason since I don’t have 4wd.
I don’t have a snow rake, I have a squeegee, but it’s on a pole just like that one. I still can’t reach anything but the bottom of the roof panels with it. It’s not the height (though the bottom of the panels are 10′ off the ground) so much as the angle. The only way I’ve ever found to clean the roof panels is with a ladder, and I was thinking of that scary ladder every minute I worked on the ground mount.
Oh, I learned my lesson about that a few years back. As soon as I looked out the back window this morning and saw what the first chore of the day would need to be, I started with the balaclava and the thick pullover hoodie and the feather vest and the chore coat and the snowmobile gloves…went outside looking like an astronaut and came in looking like a snowman, but I wasn’t cold.
Even with ground mounted panels, I don’t miss the chore. Sweep the snow down from the top panels and it’d build up heavy on the bottom panels. Oh well. Living vicariously thru you now Joel. 🙂
What if you put a clear section of visqueen up there early in the season, some loose weights over the edges etc to prevent wind from rolling it off, rolled up bottom edge over a pvc pipe, couple of rope sections hanging down over the eaves. Snow load hits, tug on the ropes, visqueen slides off and panels are clear.
Or something like that.
Yeah, CH, but I saw the pix of your panel racks. First, you almost certainly had a lot more snow to deal with than I do, and it probably hung around a lot longer. Second, the bottom of your racks was right at the ground. Needed to be up a couple of feet, just to give the snow somewhere to go. 🙂
Right you are on all counts. Still don’t miss it. 😉