Hail Yeah! Solar Panels Can Withstand Hail—Even Texas Hail

It’s true, hail can cause serious damage—not just to roofs but to plants, vehicles and even road surfaces as well. In North Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth area, we typically have hailstorms each year that can inflict damages to nature and property as well. We still get asked by prospective customers quite frequently how solar panels hold up to hailstorms – the answer is: extremely well. As a matter of act, solar panels are almost three times stronger than your normal composite shingles!

If you find this hard to believe, solar panels must be tested against rigorous US and international standards in order to get certified for installation. At a minimum, they are required to withstand hailstones up to an inch in diameter, weighing up to 7.53 grams, and hurling down at speeds of up to 51 mph (23 meters per second). Most shingle roofs can’t stand up to punishment like that for more than a minute or two—which is why there are so many roofing companies in the DFW area. But solar panels can, especially since the panels are installed at an angle which means the hailstones hit the panels on a slant rather than straight on, diminishing the impact of the hailstones.

Wait—regular solar panels are made of glass, right? Yes, but it’s very high-quality, tempered glass around 3-4 mm thick. That makes it shatterproof even when you hit it with a hammer. It’s more likely for panels to get damaged during shipping, or while being installed, then by hail. And all major tier one panels come with 25 years warranty, so customers can be assured of the fact that they are covered by manufacture warranty.

So, don’t be afraid of installing solar panels on your house if you live in the DFW area because of hailstorms. In case of solar panel and hail, if there is damage to your panels because of hail, then you simply file a claim with your insurance agent and pay your hopefully 1% deductible and your roof will be replaced via insurance. If any panels are damaged, we of course replace them with the new ones. Another benefit of adding solar panels to your house is that the panels will act as a barrier between your composite shingles, and if you have hail storms, most of your roof will now be covered with panels, which will limit the damage you might have to the composite singles.