Extreme Weather vs Solar Panels

Does extreme weather worry you in regards to solar panel installation and have kept you from investing in a solar energy system? You actually have a lot less to worry about than you think.

Solar panels are designed and developed to withstand not only hurricanes and winds of up to 160 MPH, but to also withstand golf ball sized hail stones at a speed equivalent to a Major League Baseball pitcher’s fastball of 95 MPH.

Second to flooding, most damage caused by hurricanes is due to the high winds that accompany the storm. Additionally, the wind doesn’t have the courtesy to blow from just one direction; as the eye of the hurricane passes, the winds switch direction. The wind can cause damage in distinct ways. For example, a large number of solar panel installations are on roofs; the panels stand slightly above the roof’s surface, creating an issue with uplift. Uplift is a force caused by wind blowing between the roof and the panels.



Systems are designed to withstand uplift forces by securing panels to the roof beams with large lag bolts. As long as the roof itself was properly built and maintained, there is little chance of solar panels tearing the roof off your house due to uplift or other wind forces.

Solar manufacturers include a certification that the panels can withstand winds equivalent of a Category 4 hurricanes, which have average winds speeds of 130 to 156 mph

When the homeowner had an individual inverter for their system, power to the home was restored as soon as the owner plugged into the inverter.

Bottom line, don’t let worries about hurricane-force winds keep you from taking advantage of reliable and sustainable solar energy. Solar panels have passed not only factory testing but survived in some of the worst storms the US has seen in the past five years. If solar energy systems survived the latest extreme weather in functional order, there is little for you to worry about in your neck of the woods.