There's one advantage to the avalanche if you think about it - you get back to maximum generation (or something close to that) very quickly. Handy if you were hit by a major snowstorm and the grid power is out.
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Solar Glass Snow Avalanches
- Thread starter trautmane2
- Start date
It is an advantage but I don't like the trade-off.
I have 2,494 sq ft of solar roof. The portion of roof that avalanched the other day at my front door was at least 500 sq ft of 12" deep snow - so roughly 500 cubic feet. At a typical 15 lbs per cubic foot, that is roughly 7,500 lbs of snow falling on my front steps from around a 25' height... I am not exaggerating when I say that we could feel the house shake when this happened. I don't think anyone would have come out of that uninjured.
We have solar panels that can sometimes shed a lot of snow at once. This is a good thing, because the snow falls from a side of the house with no walkways or sensitive vegetation. Having the show shedding abilities of a Solar Roof would be great (but I'm not going to rip off a perfectly good set of solar panels to get a Solar Roof).
In snowy climates, it may generally be a mistake to design houses where the roof slopes down toward walkways or other spaces frequented by people.
I would add to that last line "or design a roof product without proper snow mitigation"
COrental
Member
Take a queue from the ski resorts and just throw explosives up thereToo bad you can’t use an air horn to send the roof avalanche down when needed! Wouldn’t make you loved by your neighbors however.
In mild area of California now but having lived back East and the mid-West I know this can be a dangerous situation. A few years back a neighbor of my mom’s back east died trying to clean the heavy snowfall they had received. Feet of snow and ice came down on him, actually knocking him to the ground and burying him. He lived alone and no one knew he was out there. Not sure if he was knocked unconscious or what but he ultimately froze to death. Very sad really to lose your life over removing snow from your roof.
Warning to other solar roof customers in snowy places. They tell you that it sheds snow easily before it gets out of hand, but this is insane. We had some snow/ice rain combo in upstate NY. These ~100 lb ice slabs came off all around the house and traveled about 10 ft. Basically after a storm like this you need to treat your exterior perimeter like a war zone… This is a full sized basketball for scale. Still like the roof overall, but wish this issue was mitigated. Normal snow does shed easily FWIW.
We had our solar roof installed in NJ over the summer. After the first snowfall of this winter, we began hearing thunder-like noises that we soon learned were sheets of snow falling off of our roof and damaging our deck and landscaping. I immediately brought this to the attention of various Tesla customer service reps that I have come across through my many many issues with this Solar Roof + Powerwall system. Those have been agonizing, but that's a story for a different time.
With every snowstorm came more snow crashing to the ground, more danger, and more emails falling on deaf ears. A good number of the dangerous areas are places where people regularly walk, so this isn't something we can just manage without snow guards or some other solution. After being brushed off numerous times by customer service reps, I finally got someone to put me into a "Snow Guard Pilot Program" that would come and install some safety guards. Great, or so I thought.
After more back and forth and feet dragging, I get an email that the snow guard pilot is paused and there are no updates. I was already at my wits end, and then an ice storm rolled through the northeast this past week. In the morning, we start hearing the same loud noises of ice falling off of our roof, but then we hear a loud crash. Our front porch has an overhang that also has some roof tiles on it below the higher, main roof. Ice from the top main roof slid off and shattered a tile that Tesla advertises as "Built to Last" and "durable, strong and engineered for all-weather protection." Evidently, they are not. Here is a photo of the broken tile and some of the ice that did it in:
Here are additional photos to show just how much ice is crashing to the ground (as well as our damaged boxwoods):
Aside from the broken tile that I assume will get repaired under warranty after a lengthy email thread back and forth and weeks or months of dragging their feet, I consider this an actively dangerous situation for my family and my guests. Tesla really does not seem to care, and that appalls me.
I don't really know what the purpose of this post is besides sharing my story and allowing me to vent. Does anyone have any similar experiences or recommendations on what to do next?
With every snowstorm came more snow crashing to the ground, more danger, and more emails falling on deaf ears. A good number of the dangerous areas are places where people regularly walk, so this isn't something we can just manage without snow guards or some other solution. After being brushed off numerous times by customer service reps, I finally got someone to put me into a "Snow Guard Pilot Program" that would come and install some safety guards. Great, or so I thought.
After more back and forth and feet dragging, I get an email that the snow guard pilot is paused and there are no updates. I was already at my wits end, and then an ice storm rolled through the northeast this past week. In the morning, we start hearing the same loud noises of ice falling off of our roof, but then we hear a loud crash. Our front porch has an overhang that also has some roof tiles on it below the higher, main roof. Ice from the top main roof slid off and shattered a tile that Tesla advertises as "Built to Last" and "durable, strong and engineered for all-weather protection." Evidently, they are not. Here is a photo of the broken tile and some of the ice that did it in:
Here are additional photos to show just how much ice is crashing to the ground (as well as our damaged boxwoods):
Aside from the broken tile that I assume will get repaired under warranty after a lengthy email thread back and forth and weeks or months of dragging their feet, I consider this an actively dangerous situation for my family and my guests. Tesla really does not seem to care, and that appalls me.
I don't really know what the purpose of this post is besides sharing my story and allowing me to vent. Does anyone have any similar experiences or recommendations on what to do next?
One dude in Telsa Y forum was blaming Tesla that his son broke car's roof by standing too quickly while watching Netflix.
You clearly blame Tesla for show/ice failling off the solar roof. Why do you think Tesla should care about that?
What's next? Plaid owners blaming Tesla for their stomach problems due to acceleration?
What solution would satisfy you? What do you propose?
I am really curious. I've ordered Solar Roof and live where it snows as well.
You clearly blame Tesla for show/ice failling off the solar roof. Why do you think Tesla should care about that?
What's next? Plaid owners blaming Tesla for their stomach problems due to acceleration?
What solution would satisfy you? What do you propose?
I am really curious. I've ordered Solar Roof and live where it snows as well.
oooooo this thread is going to be interesting 
The snow and ice not accumulating on the roof was touted as a feature not a bug… so the home could still produce energy. But shedding ice sheets onto people walking below is the homeowner’s problem.
Tesla is citing operator error when their vehicles on autopilot and FSD ram emergency vehicles and semis. Do you think Tesla will claim responsibility if a human is sliced open by falling ice sheets from your roof?
Time to buy an umbrella for personal liability insurance in addition to your homeowner’s policy.
The snow and ice not accumulating on the roof was touted as a feature not a bug… so the home could still produce energy. But shedding ice sheets onto people walking below is the homeowner’s problem.
Tesla is citing operator error when their vehicles on autopilot and FSD ram emergency vehicles and semis. Do you think Tesla will claim responsibility if a human is sliced open by falling ice sheets from your roof?
Time to buy an umbrella for personal liability insurance in addition to your homeowner’s policy.
There is plenty of discussion and some info about options here on the forum. Here's one thread:
Solar Glass Snow Avalanches
Solar Glass Snow Avalanches
aesculus
Still Trying to Figure This All Out
The world of unintended consequences. Especially true whenever we start doing something different.
I don't live in a snow area but I did get about an inch of snow around Christmas. On my regular roofs it just stayed in place and melted quickly. On my solar roof it actually slid into a valley between roofs and then onto the ground and made a nice pile. In fact if it had not done that I would probably would not have noticed the limited snow I got at all or chalked it up to hail or heavy frost. But looking at the little piles from the solar roof valley on the ground clearly showed it as snow.
I have no clue what the solution to the OPs problem is. On one hand it's kind of neat that snow sheds from the roof but I can also see the issue with old snow or ice forming and sliding off. That could be dangerous.
I don't live in a snow area but I did get about an inch of snow around Christmas. On my regular roofs it just stayed in place and melted quickly. On my solar roof it actually slid into a valley between roofs and then onto the ground and made a nice pile. In fact if it had not done that I would probably would not have noticed the limited snow I got at all or chalked it up to hail or heavy frost. But looking at the little piles from the solar roof valley on the ground clearly showed it as snow.
I have no clue what the solution to the OPs problem is. On one hand it's kind of neat that snow sheds from the roof but I can also see the issue with old snow or ice forming and sliding off. That could be dangerous.
I understand where you're coming from, but this was not an issue with my previous asphalt roof. I think it is very reasonable to expect Tesla not to install a new roof that is inherently dangerous in its design.
In snowy areas those with metal roofs also have this issue, and typically some type of snow retention device is added after the fact where there are walkways or areas of possible property damage. I have no idea of the legal requirements here but they must be known. Call a local roofer familiar with the local AHJ and ask about a metal roof you can get an answer I bet.
If the roofer in your had installed a metal roof without some additional protection over the walkways would this be different?
I 100% think Tesla needs to offer something with the initial roof installation to prevent this problem from hurting people. It is not a surprise, and while it may be a feature in some areas, it is not always so with ice storms.
I know that some buildings use an active electric heating system under the roof deck to melt the rooftop ice just during the storm, maybe this is possible? Cutting the ice up into smaller falls is also a possible solution.
I moved the newly created thread into this existing discussion on this topic, which is why you will now find your post inside the thread you linked to.
Not sure if serious.
People who get angry, drunk, high and get bjs drive 2-80 ton cars and trucks. Those are in fact inherently dangerous because besides moving butts and goods those kill many people a year. FSD will help, but this is another topic.
In any case, by lour "logic", every object can be inherently dangerous. Paper clip, butcher knife, aligator.
Well, aligators aren't designed by us, but I am sure you get it.
Personally, I think that this is another Tesla, move fast and break things (literally here!) issue.
A roof is generally not a hazard to pedestrians below, nor shubbery. I think solar roof owners have an implied "fit for purpose" that includes not maiming or killing innocent bystanders and shrubs. No different than any other product, e.g. You rent a car, and expect it to have brakes and an engine that powers the wheels.
How it gets fixed is on Tesla, but no question that it does need to be fixed. "Pronto dente..."
Until it gets fixed, I would have a big sign out front
"Tesla solar roof: hazardous area, falling ice and glass, enter at your own risk."
Then tweet it to Elon.
All the best,
BG
A roof is generally not a hazard to pedestrians below, nor shubbery. I think solar roof owners have an implied "fit for purpose" that includes not maiming or killing innocent bystanders and shrubs. No different than any other product, e.g. You rent a car, and expect it to have brakes and an engine that powers the wheels.
How it gets fixed is on Tesla, but no question that it does need to be fixed. "Pronto dente..."
Until it gets fixed, I would have a big sign out front
"Tesla solar roof: hazardous area, falling ice and glass, enter at your own risk."
Then tweet it to Elon.
All the best,
BG
This comment is a false equivalence. We're not talking about negligent operation by an owner.
Agreed all around.Personally, I think that this is another Tesla, move fast and break things (literally here!) issue.
A roof is generally not a hazard to pedestrians below, nor shubbery. I think solar roof owners have an implied "fit for purpose" that includes not maiming or killing innocent bystanders and shrubs. No different than any other product, e.g. You rent a car, and expect it to have brakes and an engine that powers the wheels.
How it gets fixed is on Tesla, but no question that it does need to be fixed. "Pronto dente..."
Until it gets fixed, I would have a big sign out front
"Tesla solar roof: hazardous area, falling ice and glass, enter at your own risk."
Then tweet it to Elon.
All the best,
BG
This has nothing to do with what the person you responded to said. Also, the minute you start talking about "TeslaQ" or whatever, you completely lose me. If you want to state you dont think tesla is liable for this, sure, thats fine. That has nothing to do with autos, FSD, etc, nor "TeslaQ". Leave any and all references to that out of any discussion on this topic.
I got solar + powerwall through a local installer and they mentioned these snowguards (https://www.alpinesnowguards.com). The recommendation at the time was to get a 'bar style' that are mounted to the panels over my driveway. The other panels aren't over any high traffic areas so I didn't bother.
I'm thinking that the 'tab style' might have been a better choice as that may have prevented the avalanche scenario but been more conducive to speeding the melting process.
In one of the recent snow followed by cold, I'm not sure that the bar made that big of a difference from a production point of view. It seemed that the following cold weather kept the snow on all panels and not just the ones with the guards.
The bars do make it harder to clear the panels with a roof rake though. I think the tabs are spaced far enough apart that you could get the rake between them.
I'm thinking that the 'tab style' might have been a better choice as that may have prevented the avalanche scenario but been more conducive to speeding the melting process.
In one of the recent snow followed by cold, I'm not sure that the bar made that big of a difference from a production point of view. It seemed that the following cold weather kept the snow on all panels and not just the ones with the guards.
The bars do make it harder to clear the panels with a roof rake though. I think the tabs are spaced far enough apart that you could get the rake between them.
This isn't Tesla's problem, It's YOUR's. If you don't like it, then fix it.
Next you'll be mad that Tesla cars allow you to accelerate to quick.
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