If you live in a region that typically experiences colder winters, or even one that is cold all year round, you might be concerned as to the health of your solar panels, and wonder whether there’s anything you should be doing to help them survive the freezing temperatures. Fortunately, high quality solar systems require minimal maintenance all year round, but there may still be a few things you want to know about your solar panels and their performance through the winter months:
Do solar panels produce less energy during the winter?
The majority of high quality solar panels still perform well in colder weather, and can even generate clean energy on cloudy days, although naturally, the sunnier it is, the more energy your panels will be able to store.
Should I remove snow from my solar panels?
While it’s usually helpful (and oftentimes, necessary) to remove dust, bird droppings and debris from your solar panels to help them work more effectively, this isn’t usually the case with snow. In most locations, snow will melt from the panels after a certain amount of time, and removing it could even cause more harm than good.
That said, if you’re experiencing heavy snowfall and it looks set to stay on your solar panels, you should call a local solar power system provider, and have them come out and safely remove the snow for you. If your solar panels are on your roof, you must never try to go up and remove the snow yourself, it simply isn’t worth the risk.
Can solar panels handle extreme weather conditions?
Provided you purchase your solar panels from a reputable manufacturer, and have them professionally installed, they should be exceptionally durable and be more than capable of handling all manner of extreme weather conditions.
If you choose solar panels with a strong copper foundation, you should find that the panels are flexible and strong, and degrade at a much slower rate than other, cheaper solar panels.
When choosing your solar panels, look for the degradation rate, which is the reduction of power output for a solar panel over time. Your chosen solar panel supplier may provide you with a warranty for the system, and this can help give you an idea of how long the panels are expected to last, and how they might hold up in extreme weather conditions, over the years.
So, even if you live in a very cold region that frequently experiences harsh winters, the most you should ever have to do is call out the professionals to clean off the snow if it hasn’t melted after a few days, no big deal. Overall, solar panels require minimal maintenance and are an affordable and simple way to reduce your carbon footprint and power your home, for less.
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