Solar Panel Hail Damage

Solar panels which in residential use generally means a collection or array of photovoltaic pv modules are one green energy source.

Solar panel hail damage. A solar module or panel that is installed properly and tilted to face south should never break from hail. Hail damage and your solar panels. Up until a couple weeks ago we would tell people we ve never seen a solar module panel being damaged from hail. Solar panels and hail.

Silicon solar cells will fracture and crack under pressure so it is common that manufacturers install a protective housing around the solar cells. Installing smaller solar panels can reduce the damage caused during a hail storm. It took nearly a decade before are solar has had to replace a panel due to hail damage. Solar panel manufacturers test their products to ensure that they are capable of withstanding hail storms.

For solar electricity consider using thin film or amorphous photovoltaic panels. The substrate is a flexible plastic material and highly resistant to damage from rocks or hail. With hail season in full swing protect your solar panels from hail damage to keep their energy supply in working condition. Hail speed size and hardness are non constant variables but solar panels have a line of protection from hail damage.

One minute the sun is shining bright across the lone star state then suddenly debris the size of golfballs rattles down and wreaks havoc that s often. The june 2018 storm that dropped tennis ball sized hail across the northern front range finally cracked select west facing panels. In order for a solar panel to be approved by the california energy commission there are a number of certification tests that it must pass. This is because if one part of a solar panel is damaged the energy output loss is considerable and almost as if you lost the entire panel.

Hail tests and certifications for solar panels. In the spirit of making the world a greener place many people continue to look for alternative energy sources to run their vehicles and heat and cool their homes. The answer is yes. One of these is iec 61215 which involves accelerated stress tests to see how well the module holds up under heat cold wind humidity uv light and mechnical stress including hail.

Solar panels and hail damage can happen in the blink of an eye.