There’s this old song about temperamental weather that perfectly sums up this time of year in the Midwest.

“Spring is the time for tornadoes. Tornadoes can blow your house down.”

Actually, that song is kind of depressing. But it brings up a question about solar panels that we find ourselves addressing a lot here at Shine Solar.

“But what about hail?”

It seems as though 2017 has kind of been the year for hail. And not the little dainty little baby hail we remember randomly from our childhoods. Current Facebook newsfeeds are full of hail that looks like something straight out of fake news. How can these baseball-sized ice rocks be falling from the sky during warm weather? Like, more than once?

But there’s something even weirder than crazy baseball hail, and that is the fact that solar panels can totally handle the onslaught. It makes sense, though, right? If these things are going to be exposed to the elements, and most of the time located on rooftops, then it stands to reason that they can handle said elements.

However, it still seems improbable. Because, yes, solar panels look cool, but they also kind of look breakable. So let’s talk experimentation to show you just how tough these things are.

But let’s get the boring scientific stuff out of the way first. Solar panels are built with three layers of silicon, or rock, encased in tempered glass. Tempered glass, also known as safety glass or toughened glass, is anything up to six times the strength of normal plate glass, and is created by thermal or chemical means.

So what does that translate to in terms of durability?

A couple of things that basic solar panels can handle with ease:

90-mph hits with golf-ball-sized hail.

90 mph winds.

Shine Solar uses Tier One solar panels, which we can get into more later but essentially means that the best grade of silicon is used to produce solar cells (the higher the silicon grade, the longer the solar cell will last and the better it will perform).

Tier One panels aren’t scared of the elements even a little bit. Here are a couple of things that they can totally deal with and emerge unscathed:

Hits from 250-mph tennis ball-sized ice.

Can be driven over with a four-door truck.

Essentially, if there is an extreme weather occurrence capable of hurting your panels, then most of the rest of your home has been damaged, at which point it becomes an insurance claim (and your solar array is covered on homeowner’s insurance, typically for a few dollars per month). These cases are generally reserved for extreme weather events like tornadoes.

If you remember nothing else, know this. Our solar panels are more durable than what is already on your roof, and roofing materials are made to last. Plus, in addition to the coverage by your homeowner’s insurance, our panels are also backed by a 25-year-warranty.

So when it comes to weather, fear not. We got you covered. We’ve also got you covered if you have further questions! Give us a call at 844-80-SHINE!