Why does the council recommend turning them off?
this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025
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We had a category 2 cyclone approaching.
I only described it as inclement weather, so as not to become "exciting men's club"...
I thought it was about if there are fallen powerlines they can turn off the mains, but they can't turn off the solar panels feeding wires potentially causing an electrical hazard?
Happy to wait for an expert opinion.
Nope, basically all solar inverters will switch off if the grid goes down. They need the 50hz signal to synchronise. Even with a battery, unless you buy the separate box, your battery will switch off without the grid.
Yes, this is a requirement in order for the inverters to be certified and thus be sold. So unless someone imports something directly from China and it happens to be made very dodgy, the inverters will shut off when the mains input goes down.
There was even a bit of an issue with micro-inverters. The regulations in the EU said the inverter should physically disconnect, but a lot of micro-inverters used solid state switches to disconnect. IIRC the language was then changed to just specify it should disconnect and not how it should do that.
There are hybrid inverters that support dark start (no grid) but yes, as you mentioned, they only do this when they have internally dropped the grid feed, to prevent such a back feed event.
Perhaps the worry is that if wind rips things up, you've potentially got live electrical wires exposed?
Yeah, but that isn't prevented by turning the inverter off. 🤷
Among other things, yes...
I never turn off my solar panels, not even during a storm. What would the advantage be?
If cyclone winds lift the panels and damage them, when the sun comes out it can increase the chances of a fire, or some such.
That's not how solar panels work.
If they are damaged, they either work just fine or don't work at all. Most panels are made up of 3 circuits separated by diodes. Each of these 3 circuits has 24 cells. If any of the cells in the circuit are damaged, it will disable that circuit if the cell (or connections between the cells) has gone open. This will reduce output, but will not affect anything at all and will continu to work safely. Often this happens due to a crack, which will cause water to get into the panel and damage it further. So replacement is recommended, but not like an emergency or something that needs to happen right away. It will not cause a fire, and a lot of people don't even notice till the next clean.
In case all 3 circuits are damaged, the entire string will stop working, since no current can flow at that point.
Solar panels are also usually weighted down or tied down sufficiently, they will not move even in strong winds. In the case they do move around, they will not be damaged. Solar panels can handle a lot of shit and not break. They need to be transported and are normally manually installed.
There is zero reason to disconnect solar panels in case of bad weather. I don't know why your council advises people to do so, but they are probably misinformed.
This is some next level paranoia
If it's advisory, how legally binding is it, as in what would happen to you in the case they determined you had the panels activated?
Jokes on you they were already on