Re: [EE] How to stop frost from accumulating on solar panels?

Just saw this post..

One of the best things one can do is to insulate the back of the panels.
That allows the panel to get warm enough to melt the snow or ice.

This of course assumes that the panel is getting enough sun, even in a
corner, to warm up.

I've seen both spray foam and also foam board (the dense insulating kind)
used.  The foam board needs to be sealed around the edges if you use it.

You wouldn't want to do this in a hotter climate, but those climates don't
have many problems with ice.

On Mon, Nov 18, 2024, 3:09 PM Dwayne Reid <[email protected]> wrote:

> Good day to all.
>
> I am putting together a tiny solar panel array in my backyard.  This
> is a small array of 7 panels installed at ground level on simple
> triangular frames made from pressure-treated 2x4 lumber.
>
> FWIW - I am in Edmonton AB Canada and my buddy Tom says the best
> angle for the solar panels for our latitude is 28 degrees from vertical.
>
> Anyway - Tom and I finished assembling the panels to the frames
> yesterday evening.  There was still a tiny bit of daylight left and
> my trusty Fluke meter says the panels are putting out a whopping 30mA
> short-circuit current (each) at about 18 Vdc open-circuit.
>
> Better this morning shortly after 9:00 AM - about 500mA short-circuit
> current (each) on average.
>
> But all of the panels were covered with a thick layer of frost.  Not
> ice, not snow.  Just frost.
>
> I recall reading somewhere there was a simple spray that can be
> applied to the panels to reduce or eliminate the formation of
> frost.  Can anyone suggest what that might be?
>
> Also FWIW - my array consists of 4- Coleman 150W panels and 3- Sharp
> 130W panels.  Almost 1 KW total - in ideal conditions, of
> course.  Winter in Northern Alberta is definitely NOT ideal conditions!
>
> All 7 panels are a similar size and are mounted side-by-side.  I will
> be feeding the panels all in parallel to a 1 KW grid-tie inverter
> with hopes of offsetting the static electrical loads within the house.
>
> Can anyone suggest something I can put on the surface of the panels
> to reduce or eliminate the formation of frost?
>
> Many thanks!
>
> dwayne
>
> --
> Dwayne Reid   <[email protected]>
> Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd    Edmonton, AB, CANADA
> 780-489-3199 voice   780-487-6397 fax   888-489-3199 Toll Free
> www.trinity-electronics.com
> Custom Electronics Design and Manufacturing
>
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