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How Do I Prepare My Solar Panels for a Hurricane?
We’re in the thick of hurricane season, and with it comes every Floridian’s annual tradition of planning and preparation. We’re keeping an eye on the tracking forecasts and making sure we’ve prepared our hurricane kits and plans for evacuation. If you’re also considering adding solar panels to your home, or you have done so recently, you may be wondering if you need to protect them.
While you don’t need to do anything to the panels themselves, there are some steps you can take as part of your storm readiness. First, let’s explore solar panels and their weather resistance.
About solar panels and storms
One of the many great things about a solar panel system is that you can rely on it to keep producing electricity during a storm. So if you’re thinking getting solar panels, you may be concerned about their durability in storms. The answer is reassuring: Properly installed solar panels are made to withstand even hurricane-strength winds and rain. And if they’re installed correctly by a certified professional like Florida Solar, they will also be watertight. They should also resist high winds up to 160 miles per hours, as required by most Florida cities. To give so context to this number, catastrophic damage is said to occur at 130mph.
Installers must also follow guidelines that ensure the panels stay secure in those winds. They do this by using a minimum number of fasteners that keep them in place.
With regard to lightning, it’s true that a direct or even indirect strike can damage the panels or your power inverter. But that is an unlikely occurrence. And if it did happen, you can take steps to mitigate, as we’ll see in the next section.
Preparing you solar panels for a hurricane
While you don’t have to do anything to the panels themselves, here are a few tips on what to do when the storm is heading your way.
- Check your battery backup system.
- Review your solar panel warranty and see if it covers damaged caused by storms and hurricanes.
- Take photos of your panels before and after a storm.
- Contact your home insurance agent to review your policy. Ask about the limits of coverage for wind and storm damage.
Questions about solar panels?
Call us at 727-300-1515 or just fill in our form and let us know if you have any questions about solar panels. Whether it’s related to storm resistance, energy savings, the installation process, or anything else, we’re here to help. We will install panels that are manufactured to withstand the high winds and intense storms that come with living in Florida.
