What happened to my panel??

[Mike88]

Noticed damage to one of my panels a while back. It looks like a small projectile hit it, but there is nothing above the panels, like trees, a neighbor on hill overlooking them, etc. Is it possible for a panel to do this on its own (a short circuit or something)?

 

[timselectric]

If I had to guess (which I do). It looks like an impact shattered the glass. And water intrusion caused a short.
What hit it? No idea, it could have been an alien poop ejection.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

METEORITE!!!!

 

[Q-Dog]

Is this the solar version of "Clue?"

It was the butler with a lawn mower. It was a neighbor with a BB gun.

 

[#40Fan]

 

[Solarcabin Channel]

Impact from something and had to be traveling fast to penetrate through.

Pellet rifle maybe?

Bouge RV claims their 200W CIGS panels are indestructible

 

[Kenny_]

METEORITE!!!!

Yep...or bullet shot into the air came down or maybe a rogue hailstone.... Pretty serious impact though.

 

[Mike88]

Alien poop ejection seems most likely. ? Second most likely is that I live in a rural area and people shoot guns often out here. Neighbor also likes to scare away animals by firing a gun into the air.

 

[Solarcabin Channel]

Alien poop ejection seems most likely. ? Second most likely is that I live in a rural area and people shoot guns often out here. Neighbor also likes to scare away animals by firing a gun into the air.

Here too!

I had to look this up "Instead, a falling bullet comes back down with a speed of only around 150 miles-per-hour (241 kilometers per hour), which is just 10% of the speed it was fired with."

That would be 220 feet per second and I don't know if that is fast enough to break through a solar panel with safety glass?

Added: Most monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar panels are rated to withstand 25 millimeter (0.98 inches) diameter hail falling at 50 miles per hour. Flexible thin film panels have a lower hail rating due to the nature of their construction.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I would think a bullet could be located....

 

[Mike88]

I would think a bullet could be located....

That's a good point, I didn't even think to dig around in the dirt under the panel... going to now

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Added: Most monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar panels are rated to withstand 25 millimeter (0.98 inches) diameter hail falling at 50 miles per hour. Flexible thin film panels have a lower hail rating due to the nature of their construction.

Good to know. The stress from a bullet would be notably higher due to the smaller size and higher velocity.

Through some Google-Fu and conversions, a 1" dia ball of hail weighs 126gr, so it's within the realm of a lead slug (like 1gr more than my favorite .357 JHP!)

 

[Checkthisout]

It looks like something big (baseball, big stone) etc hit it rather than something small and fast.

 

[Whats-n-Watts]

Is this the solar version of "Clue?"

It was the butler with a lawn mower. It was a neighbor with a BB gun.

Yes lol thanks for the laugh with my morning coffee ?

 

[Whats-n-Watts]

Yep...or bullet shot into the air came down or maybe a rogue hailstone.... Pretty serious impact though.

I have a home repair and improvement company in southeast Georgia. I have fixed several holes in roofs after New Years Eve for 6 years straight. Bullet holes. I usually find the bullet in the attic but one time the bullet went through the ceiling and landed on the person's kitchen floor. It was a pretty large 45 caliber bullet.