Clearing snow from panels

[Fruitcake]

Bumping this for discussion because it's a topic of interest for me, in the MId-Atlantic, heading into another winter with the possibility of snowfall.

I live in a townhouse, and I have 5kW of PV + 2 Powerwalls, plus all the support infrastructure you would expect (Home Energy Gateway, etc.)

I could really care less about brushing off snow-covered panels in normal, grid-powered conditions. Let the snow melt when it melts. I'm not going to agonize over the money lost from the power I could have generated during that time. The lost money is probably barely enough to go to Taco Bell - by myself. Not worth the effort.

On the other hand, in a grid power loss situation - say following a major snowstorm - I really DO care about the production of my solar panels, because that's the only source of energy I have to charge my Powerwalls (and in turn, keep the house powered and heated). And that's a problem if the panels are covered under six inches of snow. Hence, my interest in having a roof rake on hand, just in case I find myself in such a situation.

Has anyone had any recent experience with roof rakes, beyond the thread above? Any particular brands one could recommend? Any alternatives to roof rakes? Any information or personal experiences would be appreciated.

Fruitcake

 

[nyprepper]

i've spent many hours researching this.....until I was blue in the face. there is no magic bullet.

the foam bladed roof rake mentioned in this thread is not completely useless but it is very far from an actual solution. try and keep the snow and ice clear on the 18" of roof space between where the panels end and your gutter where ice dams form. This will accelerate the snow coming off the panels. If you can't keep up with it you can fill socks with ice melt and lay them on your roof under the panels (I have done this with limited success).

last winter was the worst for snowfall I can remember. horrible. I left my extension ladder outside up to the roof up for months straight.

 

[zƬesla]

OP here. We ended up not removing snow from panels but that's mostly because they're pole mounted with single axis movement so the angle come winter was steep enough to shed snow. Last winter wasn't too bad though, so will be interested to see what happens during a heavy snow winter.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

We still use the Snow Joe roof rake whenever it snows. Last winter, we tried a "big rig" snow rake that had a bend in it and it was horrible. The bend made it unmanageable and virtually impossible to get it to pull the snow off at the right angle. After an hour of fighting with it, we went back to the Snow Joe and returned the big rig rake for a refund.

 

[trautmane2]

Has anyone had any recent experience with roof rakes, beyond the thread above

I bought this rake ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000A16VS4?th=1 ) last January for my solar roof.

It worked very well for me. I also used it later to get a drone and a frisbee out of trees (very versatile .

 

[eml2]

I bought this rake ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000A16VS4?th=1 ) last January for my solar roof.

It worked very well for me. I also used it later to get a drone and a frisbee out of trees (very versatile .

I also use something similar to this one that I bought from Ace Hardware many years ago (before I have my solar panels). But I use it only to clear the panels on the lower roof (first floor). It is difficult to remove snow on the upper roof.

But like @nyprepper said, it is important to keep that 18" of roof space just below the panels free of snow/ice so that any snow/ice on the panels can easily slide off.

 

[Fruitcake]

I appreciate the insights and thoughts, especially about clearing space below the panels so that snow can slide off. If I get socked by a major blizzard, I'll reply with my experiences....

Fruitcake

 

[Will792]

I use car windshield squeegee attached to a telescopic pole. Since my roof is not steep I also commonly use backpack leaf blower, if snow is fluffy. It is always better to clean the snow off as soon as possible. One year we had snowstorm, it got warmer for a few days and after that it became cold for a month. I had 3”-4” of ice and snow on my panels for a month.