Don’t place panels flat on the grass

[HRTKD]

Guys. This works with kayaks, parked RVs, firewood stacks, tents, squash plants, inflatable kids' swimming pools and broken lawn mowers. There is some justice to the last one.

Yeah, but a PV panel can go scorched earth in just four hours of good sun.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I've only placed them flat on near dead scrub grass in AZ high desert, so I never noticed, but this makes so much sense now. 80% of what's hitting the panel is being radiated as heat, and with the grass trapped inside, it likely sees 150+°F.

Due to the acreage involved, unseasonably wet conditions and weeds growing everywhere we didn't want them, I had to purchase a propane weed torch. They emphasize that it's not the fire - It's the heat. All you have to do is make the green part wilt, and they will die.

I get it!

 

[Geokilroy]

I've only placed them flat on near dead scrub grass in AZ high desert, so I never noticed, but this makes so much sense now. 80% of what's hitting the panel is being radiated as heat, and with the grass trapped inside, it likely sees 150+°F.

Due to the acreage involved, unseasonably wet conditions and weeds growing everywhere we didn't want them, I had to purchase a propane weed torch. They emphasize that it's not the fire - It's the heat. All you have to do is make the green part wilt, and they will die.

I get it!

A mix of half a box of table salt to 1 gallon of water and one gallon of vinegar in my yard sprayer keeps the weeds from coming back in my desert landscape here in Las Vegas. Couldn't keep them out with commercial products. I spray once every 2 years. Have to clean sprayer well to eliminate residue hardening in hose and spray nozzle. Eco friendly, just can't plant anything where I sprayed.

 

[jjchvl]

this is why you dont mount panels directly to your roof... they get hot and need airflow.

Thats the point I was looking for in all the posts lol! Solar panels need adequate air flow under and over them so they dont over heat. For one thing, solar panels work more efficienly at cooler temps. For another, excessive heat can damage solar panels. Id be more concerned about how hot my panel might get lying flat on a lawn in full Florida sun then Id be about my grass. Then again, i live in Maine. We dont regulate water use up here. Neither do many folk live in communities that have rules about lawn upkeep/appearence. Most of us up here figure that if our yard looks green, it doesnt matter whats making it look green lol! I dont even have a "lawn". Live in the woods with enough of the surrounding trees cleared away to suoport my solar habbit.