Does Lightening Hitting Solar Panels Damage It

A damaging surge can occur from lightning that strikes a long distance from the system or even between clouds.

Does lightening hitting solar panels damage it. No lightning isn t attracted to solar panels and putting solar panels and the metal racking it requires on top of your roof doesn t increase your home s risk of getting hit by lightning. The first thing to consider is how likely a lighting strike is. In fact direct hits are rare. Right off the bat i ll give you the answer.

When it comes to solar panels there s one persistent myth which is that putting solar panels on your home can actually attract lightning to your home. Solar farms are just big fields covered with conductive material. Lightning strikes whether direct or indirect can result in both down time and expenses in identifying and replacing damaged parts. What kind of damage can lightning cause.

Your solar power system can be damaged by direct strikes or more likely voltages induced by nearby lightning strikes. Most damage occurs from nearby hits usually within a few hundred feet. However it is likely that if there was a direct hit the lightning would damage the egc and other metal components exposed to the strike. Here are some of the most cost effective techniques that are generally accepted by power system installers based on decades of experience.

But most lightning damage is preventable. Most electrical and electronic damage in both grid tie and off grid solar electric systems is not due to a direct hit. Since the metal panel frames and racking of the solar array are located on the roof the egc will direct a strike to the solar array to ground and may reduce additional damage to the building. If you want to protect your solar power system solar panels and solar inverter from lightning that is possible but it will cost extra.

So it s no surprise that lightning activity and surge related over voltage abnormalities are identified as leading causes of solar project downtime. Lightning is a common cause of failures in photovoltaic pv and wind electric systems. They re almost asking for a lightning strike which can damage or destroy solar panels inverters and other critical equipment. As well as damaging the electronics in the box in the back of the panel where the connecting.