Quote:
Originally Posted by miket
Do those buffalo figures account for the panels being under snow? Is a lotus driver really going to rake off a buffalo worth of snow from all the solar panels in the winter?
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Doesn't matter. It's not very sunny in the winter, and the days are shorter, so you do most of your generation in the summer anyway. Here's a DIY system that produced 645KWh/Wp in Michigan, but look at what portion of that was in months where it might snow:
my diy pv set-up - Page 13 - EcoRenovator
I didn't actually find a KWh/Wp figure for Buffalo, so I used one for Northern Germany. Similar latitude and climate. Since similar results were found in Michigan, I'd say I wasn't far off.
Remember this isn't a Lotus driver who puts more oil in his hair than I do in my crankcase. It's a would-be Tesla driver who did the math and came to the conclusion a PV array + "Tesla 2g" would be a more environmental choice. So yes, he will rake off his panels if it's not overcast. Also, snow tends to slide off of angled panels anyway.