Solar panels are a great investment, but you must know how to care for them. This is especially true during harsh weather. Care and concern for your solar panels will go a long way in protecting your investment. Because of this, we’re here to help. Look below for our quick guide to caring for your solar panels during bad weather.

Adjust the Angle of Your Panels

The angle of your solar panels during winter should be different from the angle during summer. This is especially true during harsh weather conditions. Some people won’t be able to do this if the solar panels are on their roofs. If that’s the case, the best you can do is just clean off snow and debris. Otherwise, adjust your panels to get a bit more light during the winter. You also want to angle them so that snow can fall off them more readily. This is a crucial part of our guide to caring for solar panels during bad weather. 

Do Cleaning and Maintenance

After a particularly harsh storm, consider maintaining it. A solar power company can help you with this if you have it in your contract. If snow is still on your panels, you can clean them off routinely to make sure they’re free of obstruction. Remember, your panels can’t do their job if they have a foot of snow blocking them from sunlight. This is one of the first things you must do, especially since the snow’s weight stresses a PV system’s support structure. That said, you might get a little lucky. Darker solar panels attract heat, making the snow melt faster. Solar panels trap sun rays, so this could make your life much easier.

Get Snow Guards

Adding snow guards to your solar array will help hold back large amounts of snow. If you get several feet of snow during winter, this is necessary. Snow guards are also useful for safety purposes. Otherwise, the snow will slide off your panel and fall onto the landscaping or, worse, the people below. If you follow these tips, you should be well on your way to managing snowfall on your panels during bad weather.