Solar panels on the wrong side of roof peak

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SteveB48

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Mar 28, 2013
25
San Jose, CA
Hi All,

I'd like to add solar panels to extend my season a bit. The southern facing side of my house has the smallest roof section, has plumbing vents and is partially shaded by trees. The next best seems to be the west facing side but this requires me to run plumbing up 2 stories, over the peak of a roof section and then down to the panels on the west side. My question is, if it put a check valve on the feed side above the pool equipment and a vacuum breaker at the peak of the solar panel, will it drain down the return side? I was thinking i might want a winter drain that heads toward the north side of the house without going over the roof peak to maker sure the panels are empty for the winter.


Thoughts?

thanks,
Steve
 

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With the plumbing going over the peak, the panels will not fully drain on their own. My previous house had a similar setup and there was a hose bib added at the lowest point of the panels that I would open (and leave open) all winter to allow them to fully drain.

At current house, I do not have the plumbing going over a peak, but I added a hose bib drain at the lowest point anyway to open in the winter ... just to be sure ... and some water always seems to come out. Although it could be that if I waited long enough most would drain back to the pool.
 
Worst case, the water can get very hot which can make the panels get very hot which could allow the panels to deform from the weight of the water causing leaks. Hard to say how much of a risk there is as it depends on how much water gets siphoned out (location of Vacuum release valve can impact this), how much of a slope they are on and how intense the sun is.

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