Going Solar in Hurricane Alley: Will Your Solar Panels Survive?

It’s hurricane season and your bags are by the door. The National Weather Service has issued a hurricane warning. A look outside reveals bent trees and blowing palm fronds. Flags are ripping off their poles and rain flies by at eye level as if supernaturally propelled. Trash day is canceled, while curbside bins create a mess of windy traffic in the streets. It is, as they say, time to head for the hills to weather another storm — a frequent furlough for residents of Hurricane Alley.

So now, you’ve struggled through the difficult and hurried process of deciding what to take and what to leave. Some things are must-haves, others are regretfully pushed aside. Some things you simply cannot take with you, including but not limited to the solar panels adorning your roof. Solar panels, which, if you’ve opted for a battery-backup system, may be providing power and light even while the rest of the neighborhood has gone black. Thinking of solar panels, you know your roof is built hurricane-tough, but can your solar panels make it? Solar panels sure look like roof-mounted sails waiting for the right breeze and you know from experience how powerful these crazy Gulf hurricanes can be. Without time for a second thought you’re gone, leaving your roof and solar panels to fend for themselves in the coming torrent. Beneath thoughts for the safety of family and friends, that one question nags your mind in the wake of your receding neighborhood…

Will my solar panels survive a hurricane?

The short answer: yes, so long as your roof survives. In states like Florida, homes are built to last hurricanes…at least to the best of our ability. I personally have spent hundreds of hours and thousands of nails installing “hurricane clips” and other safety features to rafters, joists and trusses in homes built far from Hurricane Alley. When solar panels are mounted on your roof (always connected to the structural frame beneath), they become a part of a system.

From peak to foundation, a properly built home is well-connected to the earth upon which it sits, like a jigsaw puzzle glued to its earthly substrate. This connectivity makes a home strong and able to withstand one helluva beating before it gives up. And given that solar panels add yet another piece to that puzzle, they can actually strengthen the roof by adding more stability and bracing to the system.

Still, assume nothing, especially if you are not the original owner of your home. When installing a home solar power system, it is essential to inspect and analyze the strength of the roof system to make sure it can hold up the solar panels even while holding them down.

Fortunately, this goes without saying for experienced builders and solar contractors. Hurricane Alley contractors know quite well what’s in store for their installations, and as much as we cannot hope to master Mother Nature, I have no doubts they would ease the worst of our fears.

Solar electric and solar thermal systems have been going up for decades in Miami, Mobile, Galveston and all points in between. Installers know quite well what they’re doing and, as one of our readers aptly pointed out the last time I wrote on this subject, they’ll have the post-hurricane pictures to prove it.

Photo Credit: MIT & CA Solar Installation

Posted on May 17th in Solar Information by Dan.