Yash
Yes, solar panels can definitely withstand wind pressure.
The amount of stress any solar panel can bear depends on its strength.
That is measured by a metric called Wind Load Rating.
The high is the wind load rating, the more the capability of the solar panel to withstand wind pressure.
In short, I can say:
Its units are Pascals or Newton per m²
Newton is the unit of Force and the area is in m².
Let us discuss this metric in this post.
What is wind and how is it created?
The wind has the capacity to lift roofs off the building, can break solar panels, and break down trees and power lines.
The wind is the moving air and it is created due to the temperature difference between the two places.
The sunlight heats the earth’s surface at different rates.
Because the earth’s surface is uneven and made of different types such as land and water.
For example, during the day the land heats up faster than the water.
Therefore, the air above the land is comparatively hotter than the air above the water body (sea, ocean, river, etc.).
This temperature difference causes the movement of air. The warm air above the land surface starts rising upwards and the cooler air above the water moves in and takes its place.
But before this first understand a few basic things.
Hence starts the air circulation.
And this is called wind.
The direction of this wind gets reversed at night.
Because at the night, the land becomes cooler than the water.
Now, the warm air above the water rises and the cooler land air moves in and takes its place.
It happens every day and we can call this a daily wind cycle.
Similarly,
The sunlight is more intense near the equator and its intensity gradually reduces as we away from it toward the pole.
It means the air around the equator is warm and it rises.
And the cooler air replaces its place.
This gives rise to the atmospheric winds that circle around the earth.
The wind is a vector quantity because it has both magnitude and direction.
How is wind pressure measured in terms of solar panels?
The pressure exerted by the wind per m² of the area.
It depends on the shape, and orientation of the solar panels.
This is measured from the rear side of the solar panels. Because when the wind is coming from the rear side of the solar panel, it has an uplifting effect.
It is the perpendicular component of the wind speed that is considered for finding the effective wind pressure on the rear side of the solar panel.
For example, the wind is coming with a speed of y m/s towards the solar panel, making an angle of 30ᴼ degrees from the ground.
The perpendicular component of the wind (ysin30ᴼ) will contribute to the effective pressure on the solar panel.
The formula for finding the wind pressure on the rear side of the solar panel:
Pressure = 0.613 x v²
Where;
Pressure is in Pascals and velocity is in m/s.
Assuming the wind is flowing with a speed of 60 m/s (parallel to the ground) toward the solar panel
The solar panel has a tilt of 30ᴼ with the ground.
The perpendicular component that will put pressure on the solar panel is 60 m/s x sin30ᴼ
Sin 30ᴼ = ½
The effective speed would be 60 m/s x ½ = 30 m/s
Finding the pressure put by this component on the solar panel.
It would be:
Pressure = 0.613 x (30 m/s)²
= 552 Pascals
If the solar panel has a wind load rating of more than this pressure.
It will withstand the pressure.
The average wind load ratings of the solar panels are 2400 Pascals.
This rating solar panel is capable of wind pressure by the wind coming with a speed of 63 m/s striking perpendicular to its rear surface.
The wind pressure varies with the tilt of the solar panel
The same wind speed put more pressure on the solar panel that has more tilt with the surface than the one having a lower tilt.
Did you know? “Ramakkalmedu in Kerala is the windiest place in India. The wind blows at 35 km/hr throughout the year. It is often called as land of wind”
Top windiest cities in the world
- Wellington (New Zealand): 16 mph; 25.74 km/hr
- Rio Gallegos (Argentina): 15.3 mph; 24.62 km/hr
- Dodge City (Kansas): 15 mph; 24.13 km/hr
- Punta Arenas (Chile): 14.5 mph; 23.33 km/hr
- St. Johns (Canada): 13.1 mph; 21.08 km/hr
- Gruissan (France): 11.2 mph; 18.02 km/hr
- Baku (Azerbaijan): 11.1 mph; 17.86 km/hr
Top solar panels with the highest wind load rating
- REC (Alpha, Alpha Pure, Twin peak, N-peak): 4000 Pascals
- Canadian Solar Panels (Ku-Black Series): 4000 Pascals
- Hanwha Q-cells (Q. Peak Duo G-series): 4000 Pascals
- LG (Neon-R): 4000 Pascals
Friends, I have reviewed all the above solar panels. Do check out their detailed review.
Conclusion
Yes, solar panels can withstand wind pressure effectively.
If you are living in a place where cyclones are frequent then look for solar panels with high wind load ratings.
People living away from the equator need to tilt more their solar panels to get the maximum sunlight.
This makes the wind put more pressure on the solar panel’s rear surface.
In short, if you live away from the equator and experience frequent cyclones, look for solar panels with a high wind load rating.
Thank you
Yash
Yash has over a decade of experience in Solar PV technology and is the founder of Solar with Yash.
Check out his Youtube Channel Solar Design and Payback with Yash
Get the latest news & exclusive offers in your mailbox! Subscribe NOW!
