Adam,
Many roofs in our area here in the Sierra are metal and shed snow in
less desirable locations around the house....part of living at this elevation.
Different people deal with it in a variety of ways one of which is a snow
shovel, another is snow brakes or heat tape (ouch) and everything in between.
The snow brakes I've used are this style (not necessarily recommending this
product)
http://www.amazon.com/Commercial-Snow-Guards-Perfect-Gaskets/dp/B00V5J6VHG/ref=pd_sim_sbs_60_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=075AS4H9PRYQ252M2A6V&dpSrc=sims&dpST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_
I'm not sure mounting the PVs in landscape is a better option in this
instance. As I understand your installation, if the customer absolutely does
not want to deal with snow sliding off the array, I would probably install snow
brakes a foot below the lower edge of the array...assuming that 20" of comp at
the bottom is not enough to prevent it from sliding....because its not. I know
some people have had issues with frames being torn off the bottom of PVs from
sliding snow, but I think they get more snow than you do.
Its too late (?) now but if a 1-2" gap was left between the rows, a
custom-made brake could have been made to be mounted below the lower edge of
top row and protrude up just a couple inches above the plane of the array to
take some of the load of the snow off of the lower snow brakes/PVs. My
thoughts are predicated on the assumption that the 60" you mentioned is total
for the year, not at one time.
The best scenario would be to convince the customer that relieving the
array of the snow (let it slide) is the best option for power output and
reducing the number of holes in his roof for attaching the snow brakes. "If
you buy this PV system, it comes with a free snow shovel"
What a deal.
Bill
----- Original Message -----
From: AE Solar
To: RE-wrenches
Sent: Wednesday, September 09, 2015 10:31 AM
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Snow Guards
As an aside, I often notice arrays that fill a roof (gutter to ridge) that
are often located in places I would assume it would not be good for snow to
shed (i.e. a walkway or driveway). I'm wondering if this is something that is
communicated with customers? Do those of you in snowy areas sacrifice size of
an array to compensate for this or just come to an understanding with a
customer that this is a hazard they (or their cars) could face.
Adam Katzman
Autonomous Energies
4872 State Route 9G
Germantown NY, 12526
www.autonomousenergies.com
(518) 567-1468
On Wed, Sep 9, 2015 at 10:50 AM, AE Solar <[email protected]>
wrote:
Bill,
It's a comp roof @ 30 degrees. The array could be as close as 20" to the
bottom edge of the roof. Two rows of panels in portrait on two different roof
sections. It's a 7.2kW system. We are in NY and snow seems to be completely
variable these last few years but looks like the average has been about 60"
traditionally.
The snowguards were an afterthought, and I'm not sure if I can switch the
panels to run in landscape...which would be preferable if snow is going to shed
slower.
Adam
Adam Katzman
Autonomous Energies
4872 State Route 9G
Germantown NY, 12526
www.autonomousenergies.com
(518) 567-1468
On Wed, Sep 9, 2015 at 10:16 AM, frenergy <[email protected]> wrote:
is it a metal roof, comp? pitch? where is the bottom of the array with
respect to the bottom of the roof. How much snow do you get there?
Bill
Feather River Solar Electric
----- Original Message -----
From: AE Solar
To: RE-wrenches
Sent: Wednesday, September 09, 2015 6:45 AM
Subject: [RE-wrenches] Snow Guards
Hey Wrenchers,
I'm looking into snow guards for an array that would shed snow right
into a driveway. So far I'm only familiar with Alpine. If anyone has other
recommendations let me know?
I haven't had to use any sort of snow guard so far, but I guess I
should be prepared for winter production to really take a hit?
Adam
Adam Katzman
Autonomous Energies
4872 State Route 9G
Germantown NY, 12526
www.autonomousenergies.com
(518) 567-1468
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