I get asked all the time, “So what does hail do to your solar fans?”
A destructive hail storm that caused over $400 million in damage blew through Dallas on June 13th, 2012 (yesterday). Yes, this is my Toyota Avalon right after the storm. I parked in a bank parking lot and had a meeting with nine other business owners. Every car that was exposed lost at least one window. I lost a sunroof and sustained serious dents on the hood, trunk, and frame.
Here are a couple of houses in our neighborhood. One of these houses happened to have solar panels, so I thought it was a good example. This picture was taken by a WFAA news helicopter. Notice the white poc marks on the panels. Also notice the destroyed concrete tiles.
There were many houses that sustained serious damage. As I was driving down a couple of streets, I could see houses that looked like they had polka-dot white marks all over their roofs. How could any solar fan handle that kind of punishment? I was anxious to get back to my house to review the fan on my roof.
It looks like I sustained serious damage on one car, relatively minor damage on another car, but I’ll have to get a new roof for my house.
Ok, so I sustained thousands of dollars in losses. But it was a great day for Remington Solar. I got to actually see what happens in a severe hailstorm in Texas.
Here was my roof. Notice the tiles pounded and cracked. My 25-Watt Remington Solar attic fan is to the right.
To my delight, the Remington Solar attic fan looked like the day it was installed. No damage whatsoever. The support brackets will still intact with no slippage or bending. The panel itself showed no signs of hail impact.
I saw scores of vehicles with windows smashed. I saw news reports of tile roofs all over Dallas with severe damage. But right in the center of the storm was our Remington Solar Attic Fan with absolutely no damage…and whirring away!
You can see the hail damage and poc marks all over the roof. Most of this means that the asphalt shingles have cracked and water can seep in.
It’s almost uncanny how the solar attic fan is completely unscathed.
I will be installing a new roof, and I will probably add at least three fans to my roof.
