Deep snow no threat to solar panels

As the sweating and panting through hours of oh-my-back shoveling played out Monday across snow-laden sidewalks and driveways, one industry sat idled - and was delighted to do so.

Solar installers were calling Sunday's storm a nonevent. The proof: Their phones were not ringing with customer complaints or pleas for help.

As it turns out, Rudolph's hooves and Santa's clunky boots were more of a risk to the well-being of the region's rapidly sprouting crop of solar panels than the foot or more of snow that fell on them.

In fact, bird droppings, pollen, squirrels chewing through wires, and birds building nests on the panels are more of a hindrance to their working properly than snow is, said Michael Perillo, who started Dynamic Solar L.L.C. in Berwyn in 2008.

Sun usually can penetrate piled-up snow enough to trigger photovoltaic systems to heat up, Perillo said - to the point that the snow pack will begin to melt and slide off the angled panels.

The weekend's storm was even less problematic than others have been because of the high winds.

"It was so windy, there was no snow on the roof [systems]," said Charles Reichner, owner of Heat Shed Inc. near Quakertown.

Ground-mounted systems got more accumulation because they were less exposed to the wind. But the mounds were nothing that a snow rake couldn't easily clear if you didn't want to wait for the sun to do the job, Reichner said.

A rather unfamiliar tool around here, a snow rake resembles a hoe but has a much wider head and a significantly longer handle, so the user can reach a roof while standing on the ground.

Snow rakes are more common in New England and other parts of the country where hefty snows that linger for weeks are common and roof-clearing is essential to prevent cave-ins.

Reichner has customized his with a squeegee, so that rubber rather than metal passes over the solar panels he clears. Panels usually are made of tempered glass and could be scratched with, say, a shovel.

The way Reichner and Perillo see it, what the weekend storm did was prove what they emphasize in every sales pitch they make: that solar panels, once installed, are virtually maintenance-free.