Snowlar Panels

Snow has had a not unexpected impact on my solar panels. A thick covering of snow does not make for a good flow of solar electricity. At lower temperatures photovoltaic panels generally operate more efficiently but as there is less available light during the winter months the benefit of the increased efficiency is negligible.

Among the usual letter writers in the Examiner last week was one Bernard McGuin ex Tory Candidate for Newsome. He focussed on my support for renewable energy and the financial subsidies for it. Amongst the ramblings and many inaccuracies (photovoltaics do not heat houses Bernard they create electricity) was the assertion that solar photovoltaic panels need a lot of maintenance. As there are no moving parts and it is a solid state product that's clearly not the case. Some of the first panels installed in Japan 40 years ago, on lighthouses, are still working. Panels do slowly lose efficiency (as all things do) over time but are warrantied for up to 25 years.

Clearly Mr McGuin is no expert but he does have opinions and that's important. So above is my demonstration of some of the maintenace requirements of solar panels