So, this is my first winter season with my solar panels. And first measurable snow...
Soon after the snow was over and it warmed up a bit I discovered this:
As you can see, all the panels except the 1st one on the left are now snow clear. The first is all covered and there is a bit snow on the second. The panels slop down right to left.
This picture really puzzles me. I don't have a good explanation why snow might stay on a single panel. I have few ideas, but I was hoping someone might have a solid answer..
The leftmost panel is the very first one I bought. I bought it early while I was still building my rack. I wanted to know exact dimensions. The rest of the panels were bought closer together about 6 months later. So the first one is definitely from much earlier batches. It actually seems a bit different - it looks a bit more grey-ish compared to others that seem to be more deep black. So maybe the surface is just a tad different and more "sticky". I would buy into this theory more if not for the second partially covered panel.
The other theory is that somehow I have the bottom header filled with water and with right to left decline the water might accumulate right under the first panel. So theoretically the ice might completely block the first panel. Then if somehow I got water into the panel itself, then it might be frozen solid and retained some cold and let the snow stick to it. The second panel might be blocked partially, resulting in the leftmost tubes of the panel filled with ice, keeping the entire panel surface somewhat colder and retaining some snow. This theory is a bit scary for me. The panels were water tight in the summer. And I poured some antifreeze into them, but it most likely drained to the pool piping thru the "leaky" solar valve.
The vacuum breaker is on the top left corner of the panels - next to the panel with snow. So if it opened (when the temp inside of the panels were lower then outside?) it could theoretically suck in some water if there was any available. But even if it was raining I cannot see how it would suck enough water to fill the panel. And the panel should've retained the ice block down in the header while being filled with water... The panel had to be filled while there is an ice block, otherwise all the panels would have the same water level and if they freeze after, the snow would stick to the bottom of all the panels. Something like I experienced in the past with the dew - here.
So I hope it's a very unlikely scenario...
Anyone got anything on this?
Soon after the snow was over and it warmed up a bit I discovered this:
As you can see, all the panels except the 1st one on the left are now snow clear. The first is all covered and there is a bit snow on the second. The panels slop down right to left.
This picture really puzzles me. I don't have a good explanation why snow might stay on a single panel. I have few ideas, but I was hoping someone might have a solid answer..
The leftmost panel is the very first one I bought. I bought it early while I was still building my rack. I wanted to know exact dimensions. The rest of the panels were bought closer together about 6 months later. So the first one is definitely from much earlier batches. It actually seems a bit different - it looks a bit more grey-ish compared to others that seem to be more deep black. So maybe the surface is just a tad different and more "sticky". I would buy into this theory more if not for the second partially covered panel.
The other theory is that somehow I have the bottom header filled with water and with right to left decline the water might accumulate right under the first panel. So theoretically the ice might completely block the first panel. Then if somehow I got water into the panel itself, then it might be frozen solid and retained some cold and let the snow stick to it. The second panel might be blocked partially, resulting in the leftmost tubes of the panel filled with ice, keeping the entire panel surface somewhat colder and retaining some snow. This theory is a bit scary for me. The panels were water tight in the summer. And I poured some antifreeze into them, but it most likely drained to the pool piping thru the "leaky" solar valve.
The vacuum breaker is on the top left corner of the panels - next to the panel with snow. So if it opened (when the temp inside of the panels were lower then outside?) it could theoretically suck in some water if there was any available. But even if it was raining I cannot see how it would suck enough water to fill the panel. And the panel should've retained the ice block down in the header while being filled with water... The panel had to be filled while there is an ice block, otherwise all the panels would have the same water level and if they freeze after, the snow would stick to the bottom of all the panels. Something like I experienced in the past with the dew - here.
So I hope it's a very unlikely scenario...
Anyone got anything on this?
