Solar Panels Hold Firm during Hurricane Sandy
Posted on Tuesday, November 6th, 2012 at 4:07 pm by Solar Energy USA
If there is one silver lining to be seen in the wake of Hurricane Sandy it may be the evidence that, when properly secured to a roof, solar panels really can withstand a major storm. The following photo was spotted on Marketwatch.com in a story about Hurricane Sandy’s effects on the Jersey Shore:
Danny Kennedy, co-founder of Oakland (Calif.)-based Sungevity, which has a few hundred homeowners as customers in states hit by Sandy, says the company’s installations are designed to hold up to sustained winds of up to 100 miles per hour. Sandy’s gusts hit 90 mph at their peak.
John Steeves, a Sungevity customer in Woodstown, N.J., with 39 panels on his roof, says the storm flooded his basement, knocked out power, and toppled massive trees in his neighborhood—but left his solar arrays unscathed. He thinks having the panels above even helped protect the roof of his 47-year-old home.
Sunrun, another residential solar company, has about 6,500 customers in the Northeast, and hadn’t received any reports of damage by Wednesday afternoon, according to a company spokeswoman.
As disturbing as it is too see the chaotic streak of carnage that Sandy brought, solar homeowners may take solace that, once installed, an investment in a rooftop photovoltaic (PV) solar power system will remain in place over time, weathering the elements (for more on how solar panels are installed onto a roof see this home solar installation video).
This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 6th, 2012 at 4:07 pm and is filed under Blog, General Articles.
