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0 pointsmicromacrofoot3y ago0 comments

You don't produce much in the winter anyway, you can brush it off the panels with an extendable broom but it will naturally melt and slide off. Unless you have snow cover all winter you'd likely spend more on the extendable broom than you'd produce from the panels.

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bryanlarsen3y ago

My brother-in-law's panels produce just as much electricity at noon in the winter time as they do in the summer time. Winter sun in the Canadian prairies is quite intense, and the panels are more efficient at -20C than they are at +20C.

mnw21cam3y ago

But they'll produce for less time each day in the winter.

giantrobot3y ago

What the GP is saying is that with the losses from higher angle and shorter duration of insolation, the decreased temperatures increased efficiency such to match the summer's output. The heat in the summer reduces a panel's efficiency.

micromacrofootOP3y ago

sure but the sun is going down at 3pm, canada gets 1.5 hours of peak sunlight at best in the winter… on a lot of houses the cost of removing the snow is more than what’s gained during the short daily window of direct sunlight… eventually the sun solves the problem for free :)

bryanlarsen3y ago

Keeping those panels clear is saving him almost $100/month.

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0 pointsmicromacrofoot3y ago0 comments

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bryanlarsen3y ago

mnw21cam3y ago

But they'll produce for less time each day in the winter.

giantrobot3y ago

micromacrofootOP3y ago

bryanlarsen3y ago

Keeping those panels clear is saving him almost $100/month.

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