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Hail and Solar Panels

Ashleigh AngellSeptember 25, 2018 1525 0

Hail and Solar Panels

In some places, like Colorado, hail is a common occurrence. In other places, while not common, it still does happen occasionally. Hail is a unique weather phenomenon in that it can be extremely heavy and has the power to break things. Things like solar panels. Keep reading to learn more about hail and your solar panels and why you can rest easy knowing you’ll probably be fine, even if hail does come raining down in your neighborhood.

Make Sure You’re Insured

Regardless of whether or not your panels suffer from hail damage, one great thing you can count on is home insurance. Just make sure you have hail damage covered, and make sure your panels are covered, and you should be good to go. That way, even if the most intense hail storm comes around and completely ruins every single panel you have, you’ll be able to stay calm knowing that they’ll all be replaced by your insurance. Always get your solar panels covered with your home insurance the second you get them installed to ensure they stay in top shape, no matter what natural disaster comes to town.

The Likelihood of Damage

Even if you’re not insured, the likelihood of hail actually damaging your panels is so slim, it shouldn’t really worry you that much.

For a good example of just how strong solar panels are and just how much they can withstand the hail, we can look at a hailstorm that attacked Denver in 2017. During this hailstorm, a mall was not only damaged so much that it was left unoperational, but it took an entire year to get it back up and running. In stark contrast was the National Renewable Energy Lab, which is just two miles away from said mall. This lab has 3168 panels. Of those, only one was damaged! Similarly to the mall, the power of the panels was also knocked out. However, unlike the mall, who couldn’t get function back for an entire year, the solar panels started up and running again the second the storm passed.

People Are More Dangerous Than Hail

Despite Colorado’s intense and frequent hailstorms, most panels have only needed replacements one or two times - for one panel - the entire time they’ve existed since their installation. This means that while yes, it’s true that hail can damage them, even if it does, it will be an easy fix. And if you have home insurance, it will be an even easier fix.

A bigger problem than hail is people. Panels have been known to stop producing because of small bullets, but never because of small bits of hail. So unless you’re worried about your neighbor frequently firing off rounds into your panels, you should probably rest easy knowing that it’s extremely unlikely your panels will be damaged by a common hailstorm and that even if they are, it will most likely be a quick, cheap (or free) fix.

It’s true that solar panels aren’t bulletproof, but it’s also true that they’re still extremely durable. As long as the weather in your area doesn’t consist of angels firing off bullets into your solar panels, you can expect them to be in it for the long haul of up to thirty years.

Want to learn tips and tricks about solar energy and how to take care of your panels? Check out the HahaSmart blog!

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