This means you won t be able to use your solar panels.
Emp solar panel damage.
An emp damages electronics particularly the wires within or connected to electronic devices.
If a nuclear weapon of sufficient size is detonated high in the atmosphere an emp can disrupt everything that uses electronic circuitry potentially causing irreversible damage to electronics in cars airplanes the u s.
Depending on the strength of the electromagnetic pulse emp most solar panels would likely not be affected.
Emps can irreversibly damage anything with a circuit in it including your solar power system inverters and charge controllers.
But since solar panels are pretty expensive i guess that only a few people buy them just to put them aside for hard times.
Go off the grid.
The best way to protect them is of course to enclose them in a faraday cage.
Surprisingly enough solar panels can weather an emp fairly well.
The first way is through a radio wave attack that hits the electronics directly.
Take your system off the grid.
Making sure that your system isn t connected to the power grid is one of the best ways to minimize if not eliminate the damage that can be caused by an emp.
An emp can destroy semiconductors if its electrostatic gradient is high enough.
Solar panels themselves have limited electronics within which puts them at low risk of damage when not hooked up.
Any electronic devices with antennas or wires will be the most vulnerable to attack.
The good news is that almost all other components of your off grid solar setup would be unaffected by the emp.
However the larger the solar array is the more likely that there will be damage to the supporting equipment including the wiring charge controller and inverter.
If you get advanced notice of an emp you might have time to disconnect your solar panels and.
Since solar power systems are typically designed to provide more power than needed to account for cloudy days those who have solar panels on their homes will still have some electrical power for a while even though it will be somewhat lower.
Protecting your solar panels disconnecting them.
An emp electromagnetic pulse can damage your electronics in three main ways.
The first is because of an emp s high electrostatic effects.
If your solar panels aren t connected to the public power grid they have a much better chance of.
Create a faraday cage.
The second way is through the power grid.
There are two primary ways by which an emp could damage or destroy electronics.
On the other hand an emp event can result in catastrophic damage.
But a nuclear emp powerful enough will destroy unprotected solar panels.
The way an emp damages electronics is by causing short but powerful voltage in electrical conductors.
They do suffer some damage reducing their output by about five percent but they will still work.
