{"id":35120,"date":"2020-02-10T10:28:24","date_gmt":"2020-02-09T23:58:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=35120"},"modified":"2020-02-10T11:44:33","modified_gmt":"2020-02-10T01:14:33","slug":"solar-panels-water-channels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panels-water-channels\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar Panels With Water Channels: Good For Roof Slopes Under 10 Degrees"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Solar

Under 10 degrees tilt? Try groovy solar panels made by Winaico (and others).<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s really bucketing down here in Queensland right now.\u00a0 I’m relieved because until this evening there was a remote but real possibility of everything going all orange and wavy and really hot.\u00a0 I have friends coming over from Taiwan and I’d be most dreadfully embarrassed if all we had to offer them was a fine selection of ashes.<\/p>\n

The rain pounding on the solar panels over my head is giving them a good clean.\u00a0 They’re at an angle of 22.5 degrees, so water easily flows off them and carries away grime.\u00a0 The most common roof slopes in Australia are 22.5 and 15 degrees, but 10 degrees is enough for water to run off and prevent it pooling on the panel glass or at the bottom edge of the frame.<\/p>\n

Panels mounted at under 10 degrees are less likely to remain clean from only rain falling on them.\u00a0 Using double glass panels<\/a> without frames can help, but are an expensive option as they usually require yearly maintenance to check the tension on the clamps holding them in place.1<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0 One lower cost option is to use solar panels with corner water channel drains.<\/p>\n

\"Solar

Solar panel corner drains on — in order — Winaico, Panasonic, and SolarWorld America panels.<\/p><\/div>\n

Why Installing Panels At Under 10 Degrees Is A Dirty Deed<\/h2>\n

When solar panels are laid down at an angle of less than 10 degrees they tend to get dirty.\u00a0 When the angle is low, rain water can pool up at the bottom edge of the solar panel or if it’s very low it can pool on the glass of the panel.\u00a0 Worst of all is if the panel is installed completely flat and the frame acts as the walls of a container, creating a solar panel swamp.<\/p>\n

Most roofs, even ones that look flat, have at least a slight slope so a swamp is unlikely to form, but pools of water can still accumulate.\u00a0 This is a problem because dust and leaves and other grot can collect in them and when the water dries it will often be stuck fast.\u00a0 Normally when a leaf falls on a solar panel it’s blown off soon enough, but when it’s sitting in a pool of water that dries up it can get firmly attached.<\/p>\n

Dirt accumulating in this way can greatly cut solar energy production.\u00a0 The Googlarians at Google headquarters near San Hose-ay<\/a> in California, a location with rainfall and climate roughly comparable to Adelaide, found dirt halved the output of solar panels<\/a> that were installed flat on carports after 15 months.\u00a0 After giving them a good clean their output was cut by one-third after 8 months.\u00a0 But for panels mounted on sloped roofs, rain was sufficient to wash them clean.<\/p>\n

\"Dirty

A dirty picture from Google showing dirt left behind in panel corners by evaporating water. (Image: Google, like I said.)<\/p><\/div>\n

Solar Installers Must Warn Home Owners<\/h2>\n

The problem with solar panels getting dirty when they’re installed at under 10 degrees is so bad the Huge Mouthful Guidelines, sorry, the Clean Energy Council Install And Supervise Guidelines For Accredited Installers<\/em>, states in section 7.1.4:<\/p>\n

\"Clean<\/p>\n

When the guidelines use the word “shall” it means it’s mandatory, so installers must inform homeowners about the dirt collecting propensity of panels at under 10 degrees and explain they may need regular cleaning.\u00a0 This shall<\/strong> be done before they’re installed.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The Mandatorian<\/p><\/div>\n

Corner Channels Can Help<\/h2>\n

To keep panels clean, the best thing to do is install than at a tilt of at least 10 degrees.\u00a0 If this isn’t possible or desired, ways to limit dirt build are:<\/p>\n