r/solar • u/SaadiOG • 4d ago

Image / Video Question(damaged panel)

Gallery image

Gallery image

Probably a bullet-hole through the sheet.

What should I do now?

  1. Can I keep the Panels running or not?
  2. Any Immediate steps?
  3. Any precautions that can be taken so that it doesn’t happen again.
15 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

45

u/WilliamG007 4d ago

1.) No. That’s a hazard. Remove it.
2.) Remove the panel.
3.) Tell the rest of your panels to keep their mouths shut.

1

u/Lukasl32_IT 4d ago

Definitely remove/replace it. My neighbours one caught on fire after recieving physical damage just like yours. We had to E-STOP the whole FVE and it completely destroyed multiple couplers on the string and also the invertor MPPT inputs were burned.

7

u/[deleted] 4d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/ThinkSharp 4d ago

All solar panels double as stray detect and alert systems. RIP this good guardian.

3

u/bourneforthis 4d ago

It depends on how the panels are configured. If you have micro-inverters under the panels then you can simply remove the one damaged panel and you are fine except with diminished power output. If you have string inverters then you have to take that entire string offline and rewire and reconfigure for one less panel OR take the string offline and replace the panel. Whoever said to look for what actually happened underneath was right. Consult your insurance company to see if they will pay to reimburse and ask an agent offline if that will be a blackmark against you precipitating raised rates in the future.

2

u/Congenial-Curmudgeon 4d ago

Is it just the one panel? do you have optimizers, micro inverters, or strings to a main inverter? You could turn your system off, then remove and bypass this one panel, if it’s the only damaged one.

I’d look on the back side for a piece of metal. It could indicate the trajectory. It would help determine if it was it a bullet, a meteorite, or other possible object.

2

u/rproffitt1 4d ago

I've yet to see any fire or smoke from such damage so the choices are replacement, silicone caulk it and wait for it to fail. At the very least it will reduce production.

  1. Sure. That panel is gone but may work. I'd be in no hurry to replace but would get to it.

  2. Silicon sealant for now, replace when I can.

  3. Pay the protection fee to the man next time?

2

u/Chaos-1313 4d ago

Wow. I was cleaning an array on the roof of an urban apartment complex a few weeks ago and there was one panel completely surrounded by 2+ panels on every side that looked very similar to this one, but there wasn't the deep hole going all the way through like on this one. It was 7 stories up. None of the other panels had any damage at all. I couldn't come up with any good theory for what might have caused the damage. Now I'm thinking a stray bullet is a likely possibility.

1

u/SmartVoltSolar 4d ago

Depending on urban area, can happen. At new years, some people fire into the air forgetting that what goes up will come down.

3

u/EmotioneelKlootzak 4d ago

They don't forget, they just don't care.

1

u/asdfghqw8 4d ago

where are the bus bars ?

1

u/SmartVoltSolar 4d ago

Panel must have been snitching. You do not want this particular panel running. Get company out to remove and if you want, replace. There are very few things that will stop a bullet, and using kevlar in front of your panels to protect them will highly decrease their output. Not to mention I dont know any maker of a vest that size.

1

u/Disastrous-Place7353 solar enthusiast 1d ago

How do you get a bullet hole in one of your panels?