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Does anyone know the brand of panels that survived hail?

R

RobBehr

New Member
Joined
May 24, 2021
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Location
Tonopah, AZ
Hi Folks, A solar field in Texas was hit by a huge storm of huge hail. Some of the panels were obviously destroyed, while others appear unaffected. In the video below, you can see what I'm talking about. Can anyone identify the panels that seem to be hail-proof?
 
I think it is random. There is no reason a solar farm would use different panels in a solar farm. I have forgotton most of the statistics I learned years ago, but there is a term for that probability.
 
Ampster said:
I think it is random. There is no reason a solar farm would use different panels in a solar farm. I have forgotton most of the statistics I learned years ago, but there is a term for that probability.
Click to expand...
For various reasons, some older installations will be tested and some panels swapped out. I live near several solar farms in Arizona and can see obviously new panels among the old. What caught my attention is the density of strikes. Each panel must have been hit with a dozen or more huge hailstones, so the panels with no breakage must be different. I don't know if they are the same manufacturer, but with better technology, or a different brand entirely.
 
Ask the owner?
Or just go look at the labels if they're accessible.
Edit: Or ask the workers when they come to replace them
 
The density of damage to surrounding panels suggests that random distribution doesn't explain zero hits to the undamaged. Different strength is a possibility, and replacement of degraded panels could explain why different.

Arrival of photons, rain drops, hail, should follow Poisson distribution. If damaged panels have average of 25 hits, then standard deviation is square root of 25, or 5. To get only 5 hits not 25 would be 4 standard deviations. Zero hits would be 5 standard deviations. Not gonna happen, especially to the density of undamaged panels we see.

Non-tempered glass in thin-film panels (due to processing temperature) would be 1/4 the strength, could take 1/2 the velocity of impact. But these panels are likely single or poly crystalline. Later batch of glass was stronger? maybe thicker, but if anything I'd expect newer ones to be thinner.
 
Hedges said:
Later batch of glass was stronger? maybe thicker, but if anything I'd expect newer ones to be thinner.
Click to expand...
This doesn't get enough attention. Recently a friend and I shopping newer panels discovered some had 3.2mm and some 2.0mm glass, all reputedly tempered. How is 3.2 NOT going to be more hail resistant??

Something to watch for for us in the hail zone(?). I have seen ZERO discussion of this point.
 
My QCELLS bifacials have 2.0mm front and 2.0mm rear glass.
The one-sided equivalents are 3.2mm thick on the front.
I never even thought to check.

I guess that’s a downside to getting bifacials.
 
ricardocello said:
My QCELLS bifacials have 2.0mm front and 2.0mm rear glass.
The one-sided equivalents are 3.2mm thick on the front.
I never even thought to check.

I guess that’s a downside to getting bifacials.
Click to expand...
Maybe?? Maybe the bifacials are inherently stronger glass + panel?? Anyway looks like they all must (SHOULD??) meet UL 61730 for hail.

Edit: I believe I recall but am not certain the panels he asked about with 2mm glass were NOT bifacials
 
Here in Oklahoma we have numerous hail storm's every year, some hailstones are the size of grapefruits.
Every once in a while someone gets caught in them and is killed.
Not many panels will survive those. I decided when I went into solar that I was going to have to replace my panels every few years so mentally am prepared for it, but not financially.
Greg
 
It all comes down to how much extra is someone willing to pay and potentially impact efficiency and lifetime?. Its a cost benefit analysis, over the long term is the extra cost worth it or is it cheaper to buy insurance from a company that have actuaries that have access to long term loss data to cover the times when hail does damage panels. The alternative is go with fields that have trackers and have the panels go vertical and opposite the direction of prevailing wind. WIth the right software I expect a vertical panel facing downwind is not going to have hail damage.
 
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