Solar Panel Hurricane Countdown – 4 Ways Big Storms Affect Your Panels

Solar Panel Hurricane Countdown: Are Yours Secure?

4 ways a big storm can impact your farm or rural business’ solar panels

Hurricanes Helene and Milton recently barreled through the Southeastern United States as well as several nations in the Caribbean. They knocked out power, caused floods, and leveled buildings. 

With more dairy farms, poultry farms, and rural businesses installing solar panels than ever before, more people are asking how well their panels will withstand hurricane-force winds, and what happens if the power grid goes out in a big storm.

Here’s a countdown, in decreasing order of severity, of the four ways a hurricane or other big storm can impact your farm’s solar panels. Each one is followed by action steps you can take to plan ahead before the next big hurricane hits your area. 

4) Nothing is for sure — Extreme damage

If a tornado rips through your community or a hurricane flattens your poultry houses, obviously your solar panels won’t still be there. So no matter what guarantees or extra secure mounting you might have used, it’s always possible it still won’t be enough. Nature is powerful, and there are no absolute guarantees. It would be disingenuous for us to claim that solar power systems are indestructible. 

Planning ahead

In this worst-case scenario, if your farm or rural business suffers major damage from a hurricane or tropical storm, your insurance should cover the costs to replace any lost or damaged solar panels. Take these two steps to minimize losses from extreme hurricane damage:

1. Have insurance, and make sure it covers the costs to replace your panels and other components
2. Expedite the process by having photos and documentation of your panels, if you ever find yourself in such a terrible situation

One poultry farm client of Ag Solar was in the heart of the storm during Hurricane Helene. Five of their seven poultry houses got leveled by the storm in wind speeds that clocked at 89mph. 

Amazingly, the two surviving houses were both the ones with the installed solar panels. 

It’s possible the extra weight enabled these buildings to stay standing, but who knows. The important thing is, not a single solar panel dislodged. 

3) Wind-force testing — Keeping your panels attached

Any successful solar panel manufacturer will run stringent testing procedures on their panels. They usually outsource this to a testing company like UL. Part of this includes wind-force testing to see what it takes for wind to dislodge a solar panel.

Canadian Solar, one company Ag Solar uses for our solar panels, meets or exceeds industry standards in all the major metrics, including:

• Snow and wind load
• Durability
• Product quality manufacturing
• Temperature sensitivity
• Power output
• Efficiency

And that all sounds great, but what about hurricanes? For wind resistance, how is testing done, and what affects a solar panel’s ability to withstand high winds?

High wind resistance factors

There are six main variables that affect a solar panel’s performance in high wind:

1. Panel itself (type, weight, size)
2. Mounting that fastens it to the roof
3. Roof type
4. Height
5. Inclination
6. Tilt

A typical solar panel weighs from 33 to 45 pounds. This is a non-factor though, as long as the other variables are addressed. The key is to position your panels so the wind can blow around them without putting pressure on them that will test the mounting. 

Next, panels should be installed using enough mounting attachment points. The more places each panel is attached to your roof, the more secure the mounting. 

Hurricane Sandy 

The good news is, all this testing has paid off with a stellar track record for the industry. 

One particular solar company with 6500 customers in the northeast U.S. spoke in Bloomberg report. During and after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, they didn’t hear from any customers about damaged solar panels. Not a single one out of 6500. 

So, even in winds over 100mph, your panels should hold in place without any problems, and the poultry farm example mentioned earlier proved this to be true. The most extreme hurricane wind speeds push from 150 to 170mph. But even there, as long as your roof holds in place, your panels should too. 

Wind speed test — video 

The one caveat is — how healthy is your roof? If your roof is old, it may be wise to replace it before installing solar panels. The mounting has to penetrate and anchor to the roof, and a weakened, older roof might not be strong enough for this. In a severe storm, while the solar panel racking should hold in place, if the roof itself breaks apart, the panels will go with it.

Here’s a well-known video where a Florida International University team tests the wind resistance on some solar panels on a small shack. The shack loses it before the panels do.

Planning ahead

When planning your solar installation, talk to your installer about your concerns and ask what they do to ensure the solar panels stay in place even in high winds. Any worries you still have should be put to rest after that.

Have them check your roof and assess whether you might need an upgrade there. Then, ask about warranties and repair procedures in case any are needed. 

2) Flying debris hits your solar panels

The third area of concern during a hurricane or other severe storm is flying debris and what happens if it impacts your solar panels. Notice how we’re decreasing the severity as we go. At this point in the countdown, your roof is still there, and your panels haven’t blown off — neither of which is likely to happen even in a category 5 hurricane. 

But tree branches, bottle caps, flying street signs, and other debris will most certainly impact your panels during a big storm. How will they hold up?

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Solar panels are also tested for durability, and they can hold up to some pretty severe impacts. There’s another well-known video you can dig up yourself where a tester drives a car over their panels and fires huge ice balls at them, to mimic an impact from hailstones. The panels survive it all. 

Again, there are no guarantees, and if a portion of your solar array does get damaged, you’ll be able to get it repaired. But because they need to endure weather in order to function, solar panels are designed to withstand high-impact collisions with small objects. 

At the poultry farm that saw its two solar-panel-covered poultry houses survive Hurricane Helene, 23 out of 1120 of their solar panels were damaged due to flying debris. So damage can occur, but that’s a pretty low percentage considering the severity of the storm. Our team went out and evaluated the damage, and ordered replacement parts right away. So it’s important to note: Individual panels can suffer damage with minimal impact to the rest of the system in terms of needed repairs.

Planning ahead

Same step as before: Just ask your installer and see what their repair and warranty policies are. 

1) Hurricane power outages — Do my solar panels still work?

Lastly, the most common scenario. Your panels are still there, and they’ve withstood damage from flying debris. But, the power goes out at your farm or rural business. What happens to you?

This is the surprising truth most people don’t know about solar panels. Even during the day, they will probably not work if there’s a power outage.

“Why not? If the sun is shining, isn’t that all we need?”

The issue here is on-grid compared to off-grid. If your panels are off the grid, then yes, they actually should still work in a power outage. But most farms and businesses can’t even consider operating off the grid. 

If your solar system is tied to the power grid, then it functions in partnership with it. What does this mean? Well, electricity doesn’t like surprises or spontaneity. Electricity likes things predictable. In terms of voltage, the flow through your system needs to be constant. 

So, when your solar panels produce excess energy, the excess feeds into the grid. When your panels produce less, your system draws more energy from the grid. This is one function of an inverter — kind of like the surge protectors (power strips) you use in your house. The point is, they’re connected.

If the power goes out, your solar power system automatically disconnects. This is a safety standard to prevent surges when the power comes back on, and to protect workers on the electrical lines. 

So, will your solar panels work in a power outage? No. 

Can you do anything about it? Yes!

Planning ahead — How to keep your lights on in a power outage

Solar energy systems produce their own power, but they disconnect from the grid in a power outage. The way around this — other than a noisy, annoying generator you can’t buy fuel for because the lines are down or it’s all sold out.

Solar battery systems tie directly into your solar energy system, and store the excess energy your panels produce. Then, if the power goes out, you can still run your key systems.

For a farm, this might mean continuing to run the heat or AC systems that keep your chickens or cows alive and comfortable. 

For a rural business, you can power whatever core functions you need to keep things running, like credit card processing. This means you can stay open and bring in customers while other businesses languish in the dark, disconnected and out of luck. 

Solar battery storage technology has improved immensely in the last several years. The details get tricky. Even with battery storage, it really depends on which type of system you have. Some batteries will not work during a power outage, while others will. See answers to these and other questions related to solar battery storage. 

If you have a solar array and want to learn more about battery storage, contact Ag Solar and find out if it’s a good solution for you.