Sunshine and hurricanes
Residents across the United States deal with a variety of disasters, from forest fires to floods. Depending on where you live, your home may be built to specifically resist a hurricane. But if you have a solar panel system, you may be wondering if they’re prepared to do the same. In the event of a storm, there is really nothing you need to do but focus on keeping your family safe — you don’t need to shut off the system or take any other precautionary measures. The good news is, solar panels are built for extreme weather.
Before
Before a disaster hits, it might be a good idea to contact your home insurance provider to find out if your insurance covers your system and, if not, whether you can add your system to your plan. But, if that isn’t a possibility, rest assured that solar panels are built to resist much more hostile conditions than you might think.
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During
For example, the recent Hurricane Dorian in Florida was a Category 4 Hurricane reaching wind speeds above 130 MPH. Florida also happens to rank 5th in solar capacity in the United States. With nearly 400,000 homes housing solar panels on their roof, it’s a clear example of the resilience of a solar energy system. In fact, the state’s largest utility reported that during hurricane Irma in 2017, approximately one million panels were in the storm’s path but only 400 of them were damaged. That’s only .04%. And those that were damaged were struck by flying debris, rather than being torn apart by the wind.
After
Though panels are resistant to extreme weather conditions, we should mention that they aren’t guaranteed to avoid all harm — so it is possible that a severe storm could cause damage. Once the hurricane has passed and your home is safe, check Vivint Solar’s home energy app or Account Center to find out if your system is still producing power. If everything is running smoothly, you likely won’t have anything to worry about. If there are errors or if there seems to be a dip in your energy production, go outside and look up at your roof to see if there is any visible damage. If you suspect your system is having problems or there is visible damage from the ground then call Vivint Solar customer support and we’ll be happy to help find a solution.
Your panels are made of tough stuff. So when it comes to the weather, your panels shouldn’t be another thing on your list of worries. If a storm does occur, don’t let your panels concern you until after the danger has passed.