When we’re not skiing, ice fishing, snowmobiling or shoeing, we’re manufacturing snow guards and watching footage from rooftop cameras at our performance facility. We capture thousands of images of our snow guards’ performance. Observing snow melt around our snow guards is particularly informative when roof types, snow guard styles and patterns are varied.
Year after year, our performance facility gives us multiple opportunities to record data in a variety of ever changing conditions. In all, we have 16 cameras, 11 roof and ledge surfaces, and a Davis Weather Station to monitor snow guard performance and inform our product designs.
Here’s what we’ve seen so far & stay tuned for more updates!
December 2022
Alpine SnowGuards’ Research Facility | Wire Loop HD Pad-Style Snow Guard | Synthetic Shake
Pictured here is a time lapse video of Wire Loop HDs on EcoStar roofing that shows their snow holding ability. En masse, they are a very effective system and prized for their low profile appearance.
Alpine SnowGuards’ Research Facility | Wire Loop HDs (upslope) and Snow Birds (at the eave)
Pictured here is another time lapse video from December 2022. It shows an excellent opportunity to observe snow guard performance on synthetic slate. Anodized Wire Loop HDs are upslope and copper Snow Birds with rods are at the eave. The rods are optional and can be added during or after install if the need arises.
January 2023
This is what we saw on a Friday afternoon after two storms dumped 8″ and 6″ of snow atop our performance facility rooftops.
The snow guards are doing what we designed them to do: hold snow in place so it can melt gradually versus avalanching.
Pictured from left on a 12/12 pitch roof:
- Corrugated Metal with Snow Bird Snow Guards
- Ecostar Majestic Shake with Wire Loop HD Snow Guards
- DaVinci Bellaforté Synthetic Slate with Snow Birds & Rods at leading edge and Wire Loops up slope
Alpine SnowGuards’ Research Facility
All our products are rigorously performance tested at our in-house testing facility, by 3rd party testing facilities, and in the field by roofing experts. The ASCE standard is Alpine SnowGuards’ baseline to test against. Then, Alpine factors in rooftop snow behavior when snow guards are applied.
We keep snow in its place
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Alpine SnowGuards designs, engineers, and manufactures snow management systems from our facilities in Morrisville, VT. We work closely with leading roofing contractors, engineering firms, developers, and roofing manufacturers to ensure we deliver quality products that do what we say they’ll do. Alpine SnowGuards can help a building qualify for LEED® credits.