YOU DON’T NEED TO DO ANTHING TO MAINTAIN YOUR SOLAR PANELS
Your solar system is designed to handle all seasons on its own, including snow, ice, and the darker winter months.
A common instinct homeowners have is to brush off the panels when they see snow or debris covering it. While it may feel helpful, we do not recommend doing this.
Here’s why:
- It’s unsafe to get up on your roof anytime without proper safety equipment, especially in the winter.
- It’s unnecessary; solar panels are engineered with smooth, glass surfaces that help snow warm and slide off naturally.
- It can damage the panels if anything abrasive such as a rake, brush, or broom is used.
For proper maintenance and to prevent any potential damage, our team should be the only people working on your system. In most cases, snow slides off the panels faster than it melts off the rest of your roof, especially once the sun comes out.
YOUR PANELS STILL WORK IN THE WINTER
Even with colder temperatures, solar panels operate perfectly well in the winter. In fact, panels are more efficient in cold weather because cold temperatures help them run more efficiently and reduce energy loss.
What does change in the winter:
- Shorter daylight hours
- The sun sitting lower in the sky
- More cloudy, rainy, or snowy days
Because of this, you’ll see lower production compared to the summer, but that’s completely normal for solar in our region.
EXPECT LITTLE TO NO PRODUCTION AND SOME FALSE ALERTS WHILE THE PANELS ARE COVERED
Snow blocks sunlight, so if your panels are completely covered, production will drop to zero or close to zero. This is normal and expected. Winter conditions are already factored into your system’s annual production estimate, so temporary drops due to snow coverage do not mean you are missing out on expected production.
If snow covers your panels for more than just a few hours or a day, your monitoring app will likely generate alerts indicating low or no production. These alerts are typical when panels are covered or even partially covered by snow. The monitoring system can’t detect snow specifically; it only detects a pattern of no or low production during daytime hours.
YOU SHOULD IGNORE THE ALERTS IF:
- It’s actively snowing
- Snow is still covering some or all of the panels
- You’ve experienced several very cloudy, gray winter days in a row
Once the panels are clear and receive sunlight again, alerts usually resolve on their own.
WHEN THE ALERTS MAY NEED ATTENTION:
If you continue getting alerts a day or two after the snow has completely cleared off the panels, it could indicate an issue unrelated to the weather. In that case, reach out to our Customer Success team at support@certasun.com and we’ll take a closer look. Otherwise, sit tight, stay warm, and let the panels do their work.