From Guest Blogger Brooke Chaplan: Three Ways to Keep Your Roof and Solar Panels Safe in Snow

Having solar panels on your roof can allow you to sit back and enjoy decreased energy costs while being more environmentally-friendly. However, when the cold winter months roll around, it can be a time of worry as you’re unsure what to do with the mix of solar panels and snow on the roof of your home. It’s important that you take the time to properly educate yourself on the right ways to keep your roof and solar panels safe during snowstorms.
Inspection and Repair

The first area you want to address when it comes to snow is your roof. When you have solar panels installed on the roof of your home, it adds more weight that needs to be structurally supported. After a big snowstorm, your roof could be expected to support even more weight with snow resting on the solar panels. If your roof isn’t in proper condition, this could lead to a disastrous roof cave-in. It’s always worth the investment to have a certified roof inspection company come out to your home and evaluate the stability of your roof at least once a year. Whether you have a traditional style roof or a flat roof, you should find an expert like Fischer Roofing that is familiar with your exact style so you can be assured their inspection is done correctly.

Automatic Clearing

It’s no surprise that solar panels tend to be installed on the tallest areas of your home. Unfortunately, these areas are not the most accessible to get to when you need to clear the snow off of your solar panels. This is why it’s a good idea to purchase a solar panel system that offers an automatic defrosting setting. These systems have technology that can actually sense when each individual panel is covered with snow and will kick on the defrosting setting to melt the snow off. These automatic panel clearance systems are great to ensure the panels stay clear no matter what time of day or for how long a snowstorm lasts.

Elbow Grease

If you already have solar panels installed at your home, but without the defrosting setting, you can always rely on your own elbow grease to get the snow removed. There are various soft snow rakes that have extendable handles which allow you to reach lengths up to 30 feet. These are great because they allow you to clear off snow from the ground instead of working on a ladder. It’s important to note that clearing off just a small portion of each solar panel is all that is needed. This is because, with a small opening, the panel will be able to absorb the solar energy, heat up the rest of the panel, and allow the remaining snow to melt or slide off.

As you can see, keeping your roof and your solar panels safe in the cold winter months is all up to proper planning. Having an idea of how you’re going to deal with the excess snow is a necessity to ensure your roof doesn’t get stuck trying to hold an unbearable amount of weight. We highly suggest you invest in having an annual roof inspection and purchase a defrosting solar system or a soft extendable rake so that your roof and solar panels stay protected all winter long.