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Solar power in Texas = bad idea
#15028734
03/27/24 01:15 PM
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 96,190
Bigbob_FTW
OP
Big Sprocket Bob
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OP
Big Sprocket Bob
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 96,190 |
A severe Texan hail storm damaged thousands of solar panels at a Fort Bend County farm causing neighbors to fear potential chemical leakage from the panels, ABC 13 reported. The freak and severe hail storm hit the farm and its environs on March 16, causing massive property damage throughout the affected area, the outlet reported. “The hailstorm we experienced Saturday morning was unimaginable,” Nick Kaminski, a Ford Bend County resident, told the outlet. “We’ve never seen anything like it in our lifetime.” Kaminski’s own house suffered damage from the wind, causing the roof to come off, which was followed by hail, ABC 13 reported. https://dailycaller.com/2024/03/26/hail-storm-destroys-thousands-of-solar-panels-in-texas/
FJB
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Re: Solar power in Texas = bad idea
[Re: Bigbob_FTW]
#15028738
03/27/24 01:17 PM
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 83,490
Bob Davis
Bunkeroid Bob
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Bunkeroid Bob
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 83,490 |
I wondered the same with residential installations of solar panels. Some say they are "impact resistant". Maybe so for dime and pea size hail, but bigger hail could do some damage.
Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
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Re: Solar power in Texas = bad idea
[Re: Bigbob_FTW]
#15028764
03/27/24 01:31 PM
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 121,182
hopalong
Pescador Loco
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Pescador Loco
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 121,182 |
Estimating Hail Size Hail size is often estimated by comparing it to a known object. Most hailstorms are made up of a mix of different sizes, and only the very largest hail stones pose serious risk to people caught in the open. When reporting hail, estimates comparing the hail to a known object with definite size are good, but measurements using a ruler, calipers, or a tape measure are best. Pea = 1/4 inch diameter Mothball = 1/2 inch diameter Penny = 3/4 inch diameter Nickel = 7/8 inch Quarter = 1 inch — hail quarter size or larger is considered severe Ping-Pong Ball = 1 1/2 inch Golf Ball = 1 3/4 inches Tennis Ball = 2 1/2 inches Baseball = 2 3/4 inches Tea cup = 3 inches Softball = 4 inches Grapefruit = 4 1/2 inches How fast does hail fall? This is a very complicated answer. The fall speed of hail primarily depends on the size of the hailstone, the friction between the hailstone and surrounding air, the local wind conditions (both horizontal and vertical), and the degree of melting of the hailstone. Early research assumed that hailstones fell like solid ice spheres and showed very high fall speeds, even for very small hailstones. However, recent research outside of NSSL using 3-D printed casts of real hailstones suspended in a vertical wind tunnel has repeatedly shown that natural hailstones fall more slowly than solid ice spheres. For small hailstones (<1-inch in diameter), the expected fall speed is between 9 and 25 mph. For hailstones that one would typically see in a severe thunderstorm (1-inch to 1.75-inch in diameter), the expected fall speed is between 25 and 40 mph. In the strongest supercells that produce some of the largest hail one might expect to see (2-inches to 4-inches in diameter), the expected fall speed is between 44 and 72 mph. However, there is much uncertainty in these estimates due to variability in the hailstone’s shape, degree of melting, fall orientation, and the environmental conditions. However, it is possible for very large hailstones (diameters exceeding 4-inches) to fall at over 100 mph. https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/hail/weather geek 101
" Hop, set the hook"! hopalong 99,999 TexDawg 99,999 FJB! not my president by a long shot!
lake fork FISHERMANS COVE MARINA/reservations - 903 474 7479
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Re: Solar power in Texas = bad idea
[Re: Bigbob_FTW]
#15028767
03/27/24 01:32 PM
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 120,155
TexDawg
Top Dawg
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Top Dawg
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 120,155 |
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Re: Solar power in Texas = bad idea
[Re: Bigbob_FTW]
#15028769
03/27/24 01:33 PM
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 41,716
butch sanders
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 41,716 |
It is a once in a lifetime storm to cause this If it’s real
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Re: Solar power in Texas = bad idea
[Re: Bigbob_FTW]
#15028863
03/27/24 02:42 PM
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 26,256
patriot07
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 26,256 |
Most of them say up to around 2" hail I think. I've never seen 2" hail in my lifetime.
Certainly it's possible to have hail larger than that. But that doesn't mean solar panels shouldn't be used in Texas
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. - Soren Kierkegaard
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Re: Solar power in Texas = bad idea
[Re: Bigbob_FTW]
#15028910
03/27/24 03:02 PM
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 13,636
SteveHummert
pawpaw
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pawpaw
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 13,636 |
wow, an amazing amount of land covered up with those solar panels
I personally have never seen 2" hail either but have seen pics from others
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Re: Solar power in Texas = bad idea
[Re: Bigbob_FTW]
#15028924
03/27/24 03:09 PM
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 54,701
RayBob
Super Freak
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Super Freak
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 54,701 |
Hail is pretty rare in this part of the country as in FB County.
Advice? Wise men don't need it. Fools won't heed it.
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Re: Solar power in Texas = bad idea
[Re: SteveHummert]
#15028925
03/27/24 03:09 PM
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 25,459
ReelBusy
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 25,459 |
wow, an amazing amount of land covered up with those solar panels
I personally have never seen 2" hail either but have seen pics from others The area south of Pecan Plantation is about to have 5k acres covered in panels. Nice Brazos riverfront property ruined for miles. Throw in some obnoxious bitcoin mining bldgs and it sets the future of that area. What a shame.
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Re: Solar power in Texas = bad idea
[Re: Bigbob_FTW]
#15028932
03/27/24 03:14 PM
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Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 15,989
921 Phoenix
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 15,989 |
I saw back a number years ago in northern wyoming we got a big hail storm and it was like baseball to softball size it was going through moon roofs in cars some went clean through roof on house into the houses themselves. 'i got in on lower in of it came with in 5,000 of totaling out a brand GMC Denali pickup.
Got into Chevy dealer next morning at 9:30 I was three months out getting fixed because of so many vehicles already in line in front of me
I never saw anything close the other 19 years living there they said once in a lifetime storm. but boy did it do the damage. I foget how many hail damage people showed up and stayed like three months fixing cars for cash. Dentless repair. I was surprised it sure worked to.
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Re: Solar power in Texas = bad idea
[Re: patriot07]
#15028933
03/27/24 03:17 PM
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 96,190
Bigbob_FTW
OP
Big Sprocket Bob
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OP
Big Sprocket Bob
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 96,190 |
Most of them say up to around 2" hail I think. I've never seen 2" hail in my lifetime.
Certainly it's possible to have hail larger than that. But that doesn't mean solar panels shouldn't be used in Texas we've had it here on several occasions.
FJB
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Re: Solar power in Texas = bad idea
[Re: Bigbob_FTW]
#15028935
03/27/24 03:18 PM
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 54,701
RayBob
Super Freak
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Super Freak
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 54,701 |
Some hail is softer than other hail. Some is almost slushy and when some of the hard stuff hits the tin roof here I'll yell out "What the hail?"
Advice? Wise men don't need it. Fools won't heed it.
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Re: Solar power in Texas = bad idea
[Re: Bigbob_FTW]
#15028957
03/27/24 03:40 PM
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Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 9,570
Floon Swenson
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 9,570 |
Panels do pretty well in hail, I think. We have had some make it through hail that was a little bigger than golf ball size and they did okay without any damage.
I imagine if you have hail going through your roof, then your panels would be toast, too.
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Re: Solar power in Texas = bad idea
[Re: patriot07]
#15028963
03/27/24 03:44 PM
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Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 6,748
BrandoA
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 6,748 |
Most of them say up to around 2" hail I think. I've never seen 2" hail in my lifetime.
Certainly it's possible to have hail larger than that. But that doesn't mean solar panels shouldn't be used in Texas I have seen softball size hail while at college in Big Spring. It flattened the roof of cars.
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Re: Solar power in Texas = bad idea
[Re: Bigbob_FTW]
#15028965
03/27/24 03:46 PM
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 96,190
Bigbob_FTW
OP
Big Sprocket Bob
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OP
Big Sprocket Bob
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 96,190 |
FJB
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