{"id":260474,"date":"2025-11-03T21:03:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T21:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/260474\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T21:03:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T21:03:12","slug":"damaged-solar-panels-can-be-dangerous-heres-what-to-do-if-wild-weather-has-impacted-yours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/260474\/","title":{"rendered":"Damaged solar panels can be dangerous. Here’s what to do if wild weather has impacted yours"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three days of storms and giant hail have wreaked havoc on parts of south-east Queensland before the summer storm season has even arrived.<\/p>\n

Giant hail hit Queensland causing injuries and damage \u2013 why?<\/a><\/p>\n

Hailstones of up to 8 and 9 centimetres hit parts of Queensland over the weekend. What caused them to be so large?<\/p>\n

The rapid change in weather left many homes and vehicles damaged, and has seen more than 2,500 insurance claims lodged since.<\/p>\n

Esk, north west of Brisbane, was one of the hardest hit locations,<\/a> with giant hail measuring between 8 and 9 centimetres.<\/p>\n

Clifton and Pratten in the Darling Downs were also battered by the storms.<\/p>\n

The early November event was far from record-setting in terms of destruction and hail size, but still caused significant damage to rooftop solar panels.<\/p>\n

\"Hand<\/p>\n

The Potter family saw giant hail at their home in Pratten, west of Warwick. (Supplied: Glen and Jo Potter)<\/p>\n

Experts warn that if left unchecked by qualified professionals, solar panel damage can have deadly consequences. Here’s what you need to know<\/p>\n

What not to do<\/p>\n

If you suspect there may be some damage to your system, there are a few steps you can take to protect your home and family.<\/p>\n

Matthew Duncan from Master Electricians Australia \u2014 a peak industry body \u2014 said the number one thing to avoid was the temptation of climbing onto your roof.<\/p>\n

\"Solar<\/p>\n

Rooftop solar in Australia reached a record height of 4-million-installations as of 2024, according to the federal energy department.\u00a0 (ABC News: John Gunn)<\/p>\n

“There can be quite a bit of damage to a solar system impacted by hail, or extreme weather events, like our recent cyclones,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Once that damage has been done to the glass face, the electrical wiring underneath is no longer protected.<\/p>\n

“[Damage can] make electricity flow where it shouldn’t, sometimes it’s to the roof, if it’s metallic that could become alive and possibly start a fire.”<\/p>\n

What should you do instead?<\/p>\n

If you’re concerned that your panels or system may have been impacted, Mr Duncan said best practice is to look for a ‘shutdown’ procedure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/p>\n

Mr Duncan says he thinks the dangers of electricity are well understood by the general public. (Supplied: Matthew Duncan)<\/p>\n

“Normally, this is attached on the inverter. If you can’t find that, generally, the first step is to look at your main switchboard,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Look for the ‘main switch’ inverter and turn that off.<\/p>\n

“Next, find your inverter, there will be a switch called the PV array DC isolator. If you shut that off, that’s going to secure all the cabling and make it safe.”<\/p>\n

But if in doubt, the best thing you can do is call in an expert, like a local electrical contractor, Mr Duncan said.<\/p>\n

\"Solar<\/p>\n

Mr Duncan says contacting your local solar electrician is the best way to avoid further damage.\u00a0 (ABC: Glyn Jones)<\/p>\n

As storm season kicks into gear, he said it was a good idea for home owners to ensure they’re maintaining their solar system, with annual inspections by a qualified professional.<\/p>\n

Will house insurance cover damage to solar panels?<\/p>\n

Most likely, yes \u2014 but it’s worth checking in with your individual insurer to make sure.<\/p>\n

Looking at hail specifically, a spokesperson for the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) said damage would typically be covered.<\/p>\n

“The ICA encourages policyholders to check their Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and speak directly with their insurer with any questions or to make a claim.”<\/p>\n

\"Solar<\/p>\n

Insurers recommend shutting down the solar system by switching off its power during a storm.\u00a0 (Reuters: Tim Wimborne, file photo)<\/p>\n

Consumer group Choice said solar panels are considered to be part of your house, and are therefore typically covered by home insurance, assuming your policy covers particular weather events like hailstorms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“You should make sure the insurer amount is enough to cover the cost of the solar panel system,” a Choice spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

“The [too long didn’t read] is don’t touch anything unless it’s to make safe or prevent further damage, take photos of damage and let the insurer’s assessors handle things.”<\/p>\n

\"Solar<\/p>\n

The number on thing to avoid is climbing onto your roof if you suspect damage, Mr Duncan says. (ABC News: Monish Nand)<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, insurer RACQ said it covered “insurable events” like hailstorms under its home insurance policy.<\/p>\n

“During a storm, it is advised that you shut down your solar system using the safe isolation procedure as a safety measure.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Three days of storms and giant hail have wreaked havoc on parts of south-east Queensland before the summer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99,21157,52473,153233,153158,40361,4631,153235,153234,11228,8525,291],"class_list":["post-260474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-consumer-group-choice","tag-hail","tag-hail-damadge","tag-hailstorm","tag-home-insurance","tag-insurance","tag-insurance-council-australia","tag-master-electricians-australia","tag-racq","tag-solar-panels","tag-solar-system"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}