Need protection from golf balls

[J.P.M.]

At this time there doesn't seem to be a "nice looking" solution to protect pv panels against hard objects like golf balls without reducing the percentage of the panels production.

There may be some logic and profitability in development of economically viable glazing materials that have the optical properties (or better) and service longevity of current PV glazing and with improved impact resistance sufficient to withstand golf balls and baseball size hail impacts. Auto glazing might be a more profitable and larger market for such an application.

[azdave]

Not an option yet but...Gorilla Glass? It's becoming much more common in automotive use so maybe it will one day be available for solar panel installs in high risk areas having hail, golf balls or vandalism issues.

[J.P.M.]

Not an option yet but...Gorilla Glass? It's becoming much more common in automotive use so maybe it will one day be available for solar panel installs in high risk areas having hail, golf balls or vandalism issues.

Yea, for its impact resistance, but the additional optical properties such as high transmissivity and lower reflectivity that seem to be must have attributes for PV applications would also need to be considered.

The published transmissivity I saw for gorilla glass is ~ 0.90, which is fair amount less than the attainable values of low iron glazing with an ARC coating (of the order of ~ 0.97 or so), both glazings assuming normal incidence angle.

It looks to me that most of the loss in the gorilla glass transmissivity may be due to the absence of an ARC coating. The index of refraction of the gorilla glass is 1.50 which similar to regular tempered glass (~ 1.52 or so).

The gorilla glass might also have an advantage in that the glazing thickness could likely be thinner (lighter) than most common panel glazing (which is already pretty thin) due to its increased strength/impact resistance. That would also help transmissivity some.

Maybe Corning could send some lites to some panel mfg. after they get an ARC coating, fit them to some panels and then get together w/SEIA and do some testing on impact characteristics and other properties such as rigidity characteristics of thinner lites and what that might do to cell integrity. Probably lots of other considerations as well. Sometimes I wish I was still working.

[PNW_Steve]

My wife has worked in the insurance business for 30+ years. I asked her what she would recommend from the insurance perspective. She said "move"......

Not quite the answer I was expecting but you can't fault the logic.....

[Mike90250]

Insurance, to cover a known hazard, will cost parts, labor and another 30% overhead for the insurance droids salary.

[pughimag27]

I installed my panels in 2015 (16-panel array), each with a micro inverter. I back onto the fairway of a PAR 5 hole and I am in range of the second shot off the regular tees or the first shot off the seniors/ladies tee. The first golf ball to hit my array was on 7/21/2020. Production is down to 40% on that panel now. The second one to hit was on 11/22/2020. That panel is now down to 51%. The third golf ball hit on 4/22/2021 and production is now down to 69% on that panel. Essentially I am down 1.25 panels net.

I have lived with the two damaged panels for quite a few months but now that I have experienced a third strike I think it's time to replace them. After searching solar panel companies everywhere I find nobody has my panels in stock anymore. In desperation I searched for used panels and I found various suppliers. One thing to know is that shipping costs are not trivial and in some cases they are more than the cost of the solar panels.

I am going to give this serious consideration and buy more than I need so that I have spares, ready for future golf balls. Better than installing a new array with a new framework etc and starting again. My current system is paid for and so the savings are gravy now. I have an HOA and they do not tolerate much but at least I was able to do the initial install. Nobody else in my neighborhood has solar panels because state tax credits were removed by our governor. I was fortunate enough to get state and federal tax credits in the final year of the state incentive, which was 2015.

[Mike90250]

I'd also install some ball catch netting so you don't have to keep replacing panels.

[pughimag27]

I considered that but the HOA will not go along with it. Also I have seven spare panels after I replace the three damaged ones. Hopefully strikes will be few and far between.

[SunEagle]

I considered that but the HOA will not go along with it. Also I have seven spare panels after I replace the three damaged ones. Hopefully strikes will be few and far between.

So I can assume that the HOA does not penalize the golfers for damage to buildings. My parents use to live on a golf course and any damage to cars, windows or buildings was picked up by the golf club even though the buildings could be hit by a stray slice or hook

[bcroe]

I considered that but the HOA will not go along with it.

I would campaign, that permission to have solar panels automatically OKs things
such as wire, support structure, and protection from immediate peril (such as golf
balls). Bruce Roe

[J.P.M.]

So I can assume that the HOA does not penalize the golfers for damage to buildings. My parents use to live on a golf course and any damage to cars, windows or buildings was picked up by the golf club even though the buildings could be hit by a stray slice or hook

In CA anyway, golf courses are not responsible for damage golfers do. The golfers are, but you've pretty much got to catch them in the act. Most HOA's on golf courses state the course or those who use it are not responsible for damage from ball strikes. There are probably exemptions here/there. That's what my CC&R's state. I just bought a 2d home at PGA West. I'll check those CC&R's when I get them.

[Mike90250]

Get an automated golf ball interceptor - fires a stream of balls at the incoming till it's no longer a threat......( like the Phalanx Mini Gun )

[J.P.M.]

Get an automated golf ball interceptor - fires a stream of balls at the incoming till it's no longer a threat......( like the Phalanx Mini Gun )

Sort of along the lines of pumpkin chuckin' ordnance ? Such pieces are classified as field of usually 8" caliber.

I've got a couple of Home Depot orange buckets filled with golf balls such a minigun could use. A few of those rounds even hit my array w/no breakage (so far).

It does however seem safer to use the automation to fire nets at an errant ball. Same device could also round up mental escapees.