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this post was submitted on 02 Jun 2026
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My company has a very green mission statement, and they did the solar parking lot right before COVID. After they built it, they realized that the design basically funneled snowmelt down to directly between every car, and the cooler ground froze it almost instantly.
So 80% of the workforce went remote during COVID, and the ones that stayed couldn't park in the lot during winter because it was an icy deathtrap.
If only somebody would invent...
...a gutter!
This doesn't necessarily fix the problem. If the ground is at -5 ° Celsius after a cold winter night and the snow melt is dripping drop for drop from the panels it refreezes before it can reach any gutter.
I was being facetious, BUT, if it freezes before making it to the gutter, how is it an issue on the ground..?
Okay, I guess I took all that a little too seriously again—sorry about that.
If I’m picturing the situation correctly, the meltwater is dripping from the panels (or from the frozen gutter) onto the ground below—in this case, the parking lot. Since the ground is frozen, drop by drop a layer of ice forms, gradually turning the entire parking lot into a skating rink... if cars start sliding or people fall flat on their faces when getting out, no one wants to be held liable, which is why the idea is unpopular in climates with long, cold winters.
The raised gutter should carry the melted water away from the parking lot.