Entrepreneur Needed for Winter Solar Power Fix
“…in regions where homeowners have long rolled their eyes at shoveling driveways, add another cold-weather chore: cleaning off the solar panels. “At least I can get to them with a long pole and a squeegee,” said Alan Stankevitz, a homeowner in southeast Minnesota.” As he patiently squeegees off his stationary solar panels, day, after day, after day, throughout the long arduous winter in Minnesota…
Do you just accept this story as further proof that “it isn’t easy being green”? Do you see no alternative for this poor man but to just go out there and work this backbreaking labor for green energy? Do I hear you snort derisively?
Or… are you able to think creatively? Come on; give me your ideas for solving this. How hard would it be to plan for this kind of weather condition? Couldn’t cold weather solar providers offer a solution to this problem? I can see two very easy possible fixes right away. What solutions can you think of?
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Caveat. Renewable solutions do not utilize fossil power. Let me know your ideas in the comments. Maybe you will start the little startup that makes millions off that solution… and we at Cleantechnica can write about your idea in a few years.
This blog brings you news of renewable solutions invented by others daily. Today , its your turn to sharpen your thinking-out-of-the-box skills.
The market for this snowy climate solar solution should be good, because:
“On the other hand, the panels can get extra power from sunlight reflected off nearby snow. And like other electronic gear, solar panels work better when cold.
Mr. Stankevitz said that on some rare winter days, when the Minnesota sky is clear, the weather is freezing and the sun is shining brightly, his panels can briefly churn out more electricity than they were designed to produce, more than on the balmiest days of summer.”
Image from Day Creek Journal
Story from the New York Times
Living in ND, and wanting to get solar panels, I’ve thought about this a lot. The easiest solution I can think of is to keep the basic support structure, like the picture shows, but also enclose it. It will be a small space, so it won’t be hard to heat. Keeping it enclosed will allow you to force the heat up to the panels. The biggest decision is what to use to generate the heat.
If the panels are mounted on your roof, it would be more difficult, as most attics are insulated and will restrict the amount of heat needed to keep the panels clear.
Tarps are also awkward because you’ll need to be aware of when to cover up the panels, and then uncover them again.
My bigger worry than snow cover though, is how to protect them from the occasional hail storm?
John, yeah: it helps to have that local engineering perspective. Moving electronic parts are not fun in Minnesota: my son’s VW window got frozen open in that pre-Christmas cold snap (just from sliding it down for parking thingies), and was just one of dozens of VWs getting that repair that week.
So, best local engineering perspective - low tech - tarps!
I like John B’s idea for the most part. In terms of furling/unfurling the tarp, why not borrow an idea from an existing system? If you’ve ever seen a big commercial dirt truck on the highway (at least in a state with covered-load laws like WA), they usually have an automatic system for tarping over their loads. Here’s a link to a company that makes them:
http://www.harpstarps.com/electricwindupsystems.php
Also see the link partway down for the separately-sold “arm system/wand assembly.”
With a system like this, you would have the arms rotate from a point below the plane of the panels, and the system automatically maintains tension on the tarp. Since the arm ends follow an arc, the would keep the tarp off the panels while it was moving, and if you beefed up the hydraulics on the arm and got a sturdy enough tarp, you might even be able to get it to lift substantial snow loads off your panels.
Of course, there are still all the same sensing and automation issues, but at least this would solve a couple of your problems.
Yes, routing the venting from the house between or under or over the solar panels should easily keep them snow free without any effort at all.
As for heat strips using massive amounts of energy to get ice off - yes. BUT… I would rather invest that massive amount of energy now and then and get more power in-between, then lose power altogether. And if the electrical system in my car can handle the load, then it sure wont break the bank for a good solar system.
But yeah, I believe the optimal solution is definitely connecting it to the ventilation system in the house. The windows of my house don’t freeze over because they are heated from within. Apply the same to the solar panels and voila - cost free heated solar panels. If you guys have enough contact-freezing rain that the situation is different there, then some mechanical solution is clearly the only option.
On a sidenote I feel it is a bit narrowminded to only think of a solution for MN - wherever that is. I personally live in Sweden and most years it dips as low as -30C (-20ishF) in the winter. So as non-local to you guys as I may be, I still know what a harsh winter is.
What if heating elements like those found in your car’s rear window were embedded in the panels’ glass?
http://tinyurl.com/7lmyef
Slightly off topic, but this is also a problem for wind turbines. Larger turbines will actually project lethal amounts of ice quite substantial distances!
We also had the same problem at our small wind turbine startup (www.wind-sail.com). In particular, our turbines were being deployed in Siberia and ice forming on the blade tips on quiet days could immobilize the turbine for all of winter.
On turbines, you probably don’t want a solution involving motors.
You probably cannot afford the energy required to heat this off.
For wind turbines, the best solution is probably materials that encourage water to form and move away, such as teflon-like coatings.
I don’t know if there are any transparent coatings for panels that would affect and/or slow down the formation of ice, but that’s an idea I haven’t yet seen posted here???
jeremy
Frank, sorry. MN = Sweden, etc, of course. (I had just returned to California from vacation there; the author is a little UScentric.)
Yes, your suggestion is the one I’d thought of too: before emitting waste heat from house roof - train it through tubes to heat the snow like radiant heat in flooring.
So many inventive ideas like Jeremy’s teflon-like coating - applied from a wind business. It is great to hear from people actually grappling with this problem.
Shawn’s idea is interesting:
“The easiest solution I can think of is to keep the basic support structure, like the picture shows, but also enclose it. It will be a small space, so it won’t be hard to heat. Keeping it enclosed will allow you to force the heat up to the panels. The biggest decision is what to use to generate the heat.”
If enclosed in a clear greenhouse to let the sunlight through - I think that in itself would warm the roof. (But then, the panels would not operate very efficiently in a greenhouse once it warms up. They need cold) So you would want the clear plastic only when you need it.
Unzip the greenhouse when it’s warm? Or build the panels in a separate clear section in the greenhouse roof that unzips open?
I got it! An invisible force -field like the death star, without Luke Skywalker taking it out. Or one of those Husqvarna solar powered lawnmowers parked in the corner of the panel array. It could act like a reverse zamboni whenever it sensed snow or ice. All that is needed is a rim around the around the array.
Seriously, a roll up rubber tarp should do the trick. Metal or plastic will just become too brittle in the cold weather to operate.
I’ll come up with something… just you wait.
Or just give up… One way ticket to Miami for the season.