Photovoltaic panels covered with thick snow collapsed

Can solar panels be snow-covered?

While it snows in winter, fall, and even spring, the sun still shines which powers our solar panels. As we know, solar panels absorb sunlight to produce energy, although this is not possible with snow-covered solar panels. So, how do we go about removing snow from the solar panels? That’s what we’ll cover here today and these other key points;

Do snow and ice affect photovoltaic panels?

Snow and ice will under various circumstances cause both uniform and partial shading. It is necessary to examine the behaviour and influence of snow and ice on photovoltaic panels, to accurately determine and improve the long-term performance of solar power in snow-prone areas.

What happens if solar panels are covered in snow?

If snow covers your panels, they can't produce power – but it's easy to clean them off with the right equipment. Solar panels need sunlight to produce power, so if your solar panels are covered in snow, they will not generate electricity. Most panels are tilted at an angle, so snow will slide off on its own accord, but that can take time.

Can double-sided solar panels help offset the effects of snow?

Double-sided panels help offset the effects of snow on solar arrays. Aerial view of a maintenance worker checking solar panels at a photovoltaic power station covered by snow at Qianjiang District on Jan. 17, 2021 in Chongqing, China. Credit: Ye Xingjian/VCG via Getty Images

What happens if a PV system gets snowed?

Once the snow starts to slide, though, even if it only slightly exposes the panel, power generation is able to occur again. Heavy snowfall can present a problem when the weight of the snow places stress on a PV system’s support structure.

Does snow cover affect PV energy generation?

In this paper we describe the effect of different types of snow cover on PV energy generation, and snow related signatures in PV monitoring data are identified. In addition to snow coverage and system configuration, transmittance and nonuniformity of the snow cover influence the total snow losses, increasing the complexity in snow loss modeling.