As the U.S. heads into peak hailstorm season, homeowners that have installed solar power face the prospect of chunks of ice damaging their panels.
“Those instances of damage are rare, but the more extreme weather gets with climate change, it’s hard to know what the future brings,” says Lauren Martin, head of marketing at Freedom Solar Power, a Texas-based solar installer. Last year, the company was called in to repair about a dozen solar systems in Austin pummeled by baseball-sized hail.
Hail caused more economic losses for solar-panel owners than any other hazard, according to