Solar panels and hail.

[efhmc]

In west central Texas, we have annual spring hail storms. (One once did $23k in damage. It broke almost every window pane in the main house and foreman's house.) Naturally we have loads of sunshine, so looking to future I wanted to research the possible idea of using solar panels. The research I did on hail and solar panels does not reflect the type of hail we get. Everyone says to get insurance and not to worry about it. Any suggestions, ideas?

[OKIsItJustMe]

1. According to the Department of Energy…

http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/guide_to_renewable_energy.pdf

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Guide to Renewable Energy[/font]

…

[font size=4]Residential Solar Systems[/font]

[font size=3]Photovoltaic (PV) systems, or solar panel systems, convert sunlight into elec- tricity. With ample sunlight, PV systems can harness energy in hot and cold climates. The basic building block of a PV system is the solar cell. Multiple solar cells form modules called solar panels that range in output from 10 to 300 watts. Panels are designed to survive storm and hail damage and are resistant to degradation from ultraviolet rays. More than 20 years of industry experience with existing PV products has shown that they are highly reliable and require little maintenance.

…[/font][/font]

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. According to the TVA…

http://www.tva.gov/greenpowerswitch/solar.htm

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Solar Power[/font]

…

[font size=4]What about breakage? Don’t most modules contain glass?[/font]
[font size=3]PV modules are designed to withstand all the potential rigors of the environment, including arctic cold, desert heat, tropical humidity, winds of more than 125 miles per hour, and one-inch hail at terminal velocity. In spite of this very durable construction, though, the glass may break under an extremely strong impact.[/font][/font]

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. Look for IEC 61215

http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy12osti/54714.pdf

[efhmc]

4. So cells hit by hail failed where there was not

tempered glass. Hail here regularly breaks windshields and they often exceed 1" in diameter

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. I believe you misread that

Because of hail damage to panels that went through “Block II” and “Block III” testing, a hail test was added to “Block IV” testing. “Block V” hail testing was even more stringent.

Whipple reported on 10 years of field results in 1993 (using data from Rosenthal, Thomas and Durand) that

• Pre-Block V modules suffered from 45% field failure rate


• Post-Block V modules suffered from < 0.1% field failure rate

IEC 61215 was based on “Block VI.”

[efhmc]

7. Thanks for this information. Need to reread more comprehensively.

[efhmc]

13. Finally really read this information.

I am going to talk to the insurance agent for the ranch and get his feed back on others that have installed the panels and then get some pricing. Thanks for your assistance.

[kristopher]

5. It is part of your homeowners policy.

I don't see your problem. Add it to your homeowners policy like you would any other improvement to your home. In the unlikely event it is damaged it will be replaced or you can pocket the payoff if you don't want it replaced.

[efhmc]

8. On one site, I saw where a person got so tired of making

yearly hail damage claims to the insurance on their car, (I would guess they had no garage.) they just stopped. They lived in Austin which is about 120 miles southeast of us. Granted that is a car but it might give you some idea of the continual problems we have with damaging hail. I do not want to install something I must constantly replace even if I get reimbursed.That is my dilemma.

[kristopher]

11. You don't have a dilemma

You have a desire to spread FUD about solar. Hail is an inconsequential problem with solar panels that is easily handled as any other homeowner item.

If the hail is as problematic as you claim then the authorities should declare the area out of bounds for human habitation because it is definitely too dangerous to live there.

[efhmc]

12. Where do you live?

[FedUpWithIt All]

9. We have a couple of panels and they are incredible resiliant.

They survived some impacts from minor hail and branches and we transported them during an out of state move, the back of a moving truck, and they haven't shown any signs of damage.

It is, of course, best to include them on a homeowner's policy.

[efhmc]

10. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Yo_Mama]

14. Solar panels will survive most hail, but not the type that dings in cars

Or breaks a whole lot of windows. If you get those types of hail relatively frequently, even your insurance may wind up being quite expensive.

Can you go back and check the records? Extremely intense hail storms are pretty rare IN MOST PLACES.

[efhmc]

15. Just did and in the Dallas Ft. worth area last June, there were baseball sized hail stones.

"A total of four isolated storm cells dumped baseball-sized hail over portions of the Dallas/Fort Worth area on Wednesday, damaging skylights at NorthPark Center and delaying flights at DFW Airport." Every spring we expect some hail, although not that extreme.

[Yo_Mama]

16. I would hope not!!!

You might want to call your insurance agent and ask what their experience and risk rating is.

If they are already insuring a bunch in that area, they should already know the numbers. If they have just started writing insurance, you run the chance that the insurance will balloon in cost, so get an insurance agent to really do the digging for you. Better yet, call either an insurance agent who works with multiple companies or several.

When I inquired locally about roof-type solar insurance, one place wouldn't even write insurance on your house if you had them. If you had a policy and put rooftype solar on your house they wouldn't renew. They had had too many problems with fires. In our area it's lightning, not hail. Depending on your setup, lightning is a lot easier to protect against!

If you have a problem with severe hail in the area, they'll know about it from other claims experience.

It's not just the first year's cost - you are going to have to pay it year after year. This is one I hadn't even thought of.

[efhmc]

19. Thanks for your help.

[Yo_Mama]

17. PS - hadn't seen the post about your buddy's car damage when I posted.

Multiple claims for hail damage to cars is a good indication that you may have a problem.

Talk to a few older insurance agents and see what they say. Whatever the extra cost might be should be factored into the cost of the system. If you are going to spend a net $25,000 on it and have to pay an extra $2,000 a year, it's not a good idea.

[kristopher]

18. Quick Google search

Does hail damage solar panels?

Surprisingly little damage to rooftop solar panels

The epic hailstorm did surprisingly little damage to the tens of thousands of pricey solar-power arrays built on metro Phoenix rooftops in recent years.

<snip>

American Solar Electric Inc. of Scottsdale, one of the largest installation companies in the area, reported that it had about 2,800 rooftop arrays installed at the time of the storm, and those arrays had about 100,000 individual glass solar panels among them that were likely exposed to hail as the storm moved across the metro area.

Two panels on two separate homes were broken by hail that day, spokeswoman Joy Seitz said. In both cases, the homeowner had to pay about $500 for a new panel to be installed, she said.

Solar-panel maker SunPower reported that a 6.5-acre solar array on the roof of a Phoenix industrial building saw hail damage to three of the 8,000 panels on the roof, while the rest of the building looked like it had been "machine gunned."

...

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2011/09/30/20110930biz-hailstorm1002solar.html#ixzz2QrZmyj7d

Conergy PowerPlus Solar Panel Hail Test
Uploaded on Feb 17, 2011
Watch as billiard ball sized hail stones impact a Conergy Powerplus solar panel at speeds over 120 kph.

[ConcernedCanuk]

20. 5 years ago I was given 3 damaged solar panels

.
.
.

Cracked, splintered glass, etc.

They are still working.

A picture



These are 15W panels, so a total of 45W

mounted on an old office chair base so I can rotate them with the sun.

Been living in that trailer for over 5 years until 2 months ago.

Point is, even damaged, until moisture or other corrodes or breaks the circuits,

physical damage does not mean they will still not function.

I sprayed the damaged areas with a silicone sealant occasionally,

but not sure if that was necessary.

I have a neighbor who has been totally solar for 15 years with over a 1000W array.

Despite heavy snows, hail, freezing rain, not one of their panels has failed yet.

CC

[efhmc]

21. Thank you so much for the wonderful pictures and the information.

I want to go forward with this. Wondering now where the closest source will be, since we are at least 120 miles from any major city.

[ConcernedCanuk]

22. Check on-line - shipping is sometimes cheaper than driving.

.
.
.

You can pay with credit cards, Paypal, e-transfers, etc. without having to spend a dime on gas, or even getting off the couch/chair.

I've had some some stuff delivered free of shipping charges.

Check it out!

CC

[efhmc]

23. Will do. Thanks.