Solar Panels and the Snow
Do not fret and DO NOT call your solar company just yet!
It’s the first snowfall of the season and all of a sudden you see your solar panels are not generating electricity! Wait twenty minutes for the snow on your panels to melt and slide off. Panels are installed on an angle and have a glass surface, making it easy for snow to glide off of them. Also, solar panels are dark and absorb heat from the sun, so just like your driveway, when a small amount of the surface is exposed to the sun it begins to melt and then the heat spreads throughout the surface causing the rest of the snow to melt.
Solar panels can convert any type of sunlight into electricity, which means light that is reflected from snow to your array can help lower your electric bill even more. Not to mention, panels operate more efficiently in colder weather because cooler temperatures boost electrical conductivity.
In the summer months, panels produce more electricity than typically used in a day. All of this overabundance of electricity is sent back into the utility grid. Thanks to net metering, you can be compensated with SREC or TREC credits for the excess electricity your panels generate. The credits help to compensate for when your panels are not generating electricity, such as at night or when it snows.
Now that it has been established that there is nothing wrong with your solar system and you just need to wait for the snow to melt, we can discuss the positive effects of snow on your panels. This is nature’s free cleaning service. Dust and dirt buildup can affect your system’s efficiency. Solar panel owners in drier parts of the United States sometimes even have to hire someone to come and clean their panels just so they can work efficiently.
All in all, your solar panels are okay when it snows. If it takes longer than 24 hours for your system to get back up and running then feel free to give your solar company a call. Otherwise, wait until the snow melts. ❄️
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Citations
https://www.simpleray.com/resources-and-informations/solar-panels-after-snowstorm
https://www.solarreviews.com/blog/snow-on-solar-panels-will-solar-panels-work-in-the-winter
Written by Jessica Maliszewski | December 16, 2022
