Ronn Blankenship wrote:
> Do you typically have trees in your yard where you live? In this area in
> the autumn, falling leaves mixed with frequent rain may create a rather
> heavy (weight-wise, that is) buildup on surfaces that are not swept
> regularly. Not only do many people have to climb up on the roof to clean
> out the gutters running around the edges of the roof (even "gutter covers"
> are typically only partially effective in keeping leaves and especially
> things like pine needles out of the gutters),
Our house is completely surrounded by gum trees, so we get our share of leaves and
the gutters do need to be emptied, but our autumn is nothing like a northern
hemisphere fall/autumn because our trees are nowhere near as deciduous. Besides,
the solar panels are mounted up on the tiles at the same pitch as the roof (we
don't have to maximise the sunlight!) so leaves just blow off.
We have neighbours with a second solar system on their (flat roofed) garden shed,
to heat the pool. That one gets covered in leaves, but it's only 8 ft off the
ground, so a garden hose can fix that problem.
Russell Chapman
Brisbane Australia
