[doc-]

We've been using solar panels to power our entire home for the past year, and we couldn't be happier!

Welcome, Iday-- (if I may call you by your first name)--

Where do you live (ie- how much sun can you count on each day)? How big is your array? What did it cost you? And what is your monthly energy usage?

All these factors are important in determining whether or not solar is feasible and wise for any given situation.

Another factor is your economic situation. . It's like the choice to rent an apartment or buy a house-- You rent when your meager means prevents you from coming up with a down payment/get a mortgage, or to cover a large monthly mortgage. You buy when it fits in comfortably with your budget.

...and another factor just struck me-- This time next week, people in Tampa may well be without power. Those who rely on the grid will probably have it restored within a few days at most. Those with large solar arrays may be on a long waiting list to have their panels replaced (unless the people in SC who find them will be kind enough to mail them back promptly)..

 

[Danaus29]

@doc- , I never thought about those panels blowing away (and taking the roof with them) until now.

 

[MichaelK!]

We had a wind storm that got under the metal roofing of my workshop, and peeled it back like a pull-tab can. You could see the holes in the roofing where it pulled it right off the roofing screws (screws were still in the roof).

The pulling off of the roofing STOPPED at where the solar frame started, and kept me from losing a whole section of steel roofing. I ended up having to replace only one single 12' length roofing strip with a leftover. Went to Home Depot and bought wider-head roofing screws that would hold better than the screws that originally came with the panels. No problems since then.

 

[doc-]

We had a wind storm that got under the metal roofing of my workshop, and peeled it back like a pull-tab can. You could see the holes in the roofing where it pulled it right off the roofing screws (screws were still in the roof).

The pulling off of the roofing STOPPED at where the solar frame started, and kept me from losing a whole section of steel roofing. I ended up having to replace only one single 12' length roofing strip with a leftover. Went to Home Depot and bought wider-head roofing screws that would hold better than the screws that originally came with the panels. No problems since then.

Good for you, but your wind storm probably involved winds <50 mph. A hurricane is 120mph+ and a tornado works by pressure differences causing even brick houses to explode. Not everyone has to take those kinds of things into consideration., but some do....Hail is the most common weather related damage cause for solar panels.

Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Solar Panels? What You Need To Know! | House Grail " Both of these instances should be covered, as long as you have sufficient proof. That being said, solar panels will raise your insurance premium since they’re so costly to replace."

 

[Danaus29]

I never thought about the insurance aspect of the panels. I'll have to ask my neighbor if hers raised their rates.

She has spent most of the summer waiting for final inspections, last minute installations and the meter replacement (digital meters can't run backwards). Last month her panels were still not completely hooked up but she was making payments on them.

 

[JRHill02]

Hmmm, . My system was in place when the policy was written. The company knew we were off grid. Originally I had tried to get coverage from an agent who insured our vehicles and that guy wouldn't even come out to quote our home so we had to go with an insurer that specializes in farm and ranch policies but they require cultivated crop land and/or livestock and one pig didn't qualify. So we bought a sow so we had a breeding pair and a lamb. After two+ years and no claims we tried the carrier that covered our vehicles but this time a different agent and it was no problem. They covered everything. ATV/UTV, tractors, even the wood mill and liability for protection from a trespasser/poacher who falls and breaks his arm. I know that in the pictures he took the panels were captured. Hopefully we'll never find out. Isn't that the way it is with insurance?

 

[MichaelK!]

Good for you, but your wind storm probably involved winds <50 mph. A hurricane is 120mph+ and a tornado works by pressure differences causing even brick houses to explode. Not everyone has to take those kinds of things into consideration.

Well, if you're in a storm bad enough to cause your brick home to explode, I don't think you'll be worried most about your solar panels at that point.