Weight Watcher
Heavy snow loads have collapsed roofs and led to perilous conditions, closing residential and commercial buildings such as shopping centers and schools. Because snow can vary in weight depending on how much water it holds, it is impossible tell how heavy a snow load is by measuring its depth. Building managers need to know when they have a problem on their hands and at what point they need to take action and have snow removed. However, the removal process is costly and can be hazardous to the people doing the work and the rooftop itself.
Ingenuity and Innovation
To solve this problem, we supported faculty and students at UNH Manchester’s Engineering and Computing Technology Lab to adapt an environmental sensor originally used by researchers monitoring snow melt and potential flooding from spring runoff. The redesigned device sends updates to building managers, allowing them to determine when snow on a roof is becoming dangerously heavy.
A Viable New commercial Product
The SnowSentry™, manufactured by a small New Hampshire company 2KR Systems LLC, is currently on rooftops across the country. Now building managers can be confident when making a critical decision: to shovel or not to shovel?