Complete snow coverage (~ 2” thick) will prevent solar panels from producing energy. As with the concerns surrounding shading, the effects of snow can be mitigated with the use of microinverters instead of a string inverter (if the solar array is being cleared throughout the winter months). Snow will typically begin to shed itself from the solar array if the solar panels are tilted to a minimum of 60°; however, as the dark surface of the panels heats up from the Sun, solar arrays with a tilt of 45° will also begin to shed their snow. Greater amount of snow and can be easily removed with a non metallic roof rake. The reflective power of the snow’s surface surrounding the solar panel provides an albedo effect, and has been known to increase energy production; this is especially prevalent with ground-mounted bifacial solar arrays. Many grid-tied solar PV roof-top arrays will remain covered by snow throughout the winter as users know that energy production in the winter months is significantly less than what can be expected during the other seasons, due to slope and orientation of the Sun with respect to the roof mounted solar panels.
