Australia’s diverse climate, known for its extremes, presents unique challenges to solar power systems. To ensure the lifespan and efficiency of your solar panels, they must withstand extreme weather conditions.
Thus, we have a beginner’s guide to solar information for emergency preparedness.
Here’s how to protect your solar investment in the face of extreme heat, bushfires, coastal salt mist, and storms.
3 Ways Solar Power Can Help You in Emergencies
Constant Power
The power might go out in emergencies like storms or earthquakes, leaving you without important things like lights or heating.
Solar panel systems that don’t need the main grid keep giving you power no matter what’s happening outside.
They store energy from the sun in batteries, so you always have electricity even if the regular power goes out.
Benefits:
- Reliable backup power when the main power goes down
- Can run important things like medical devices
- Makes you feel safer during emergencies
Many people are still affected by power outages in Australia. Solar panels can lower the chances of being left without electricity and help you keep going even during tough times.
Portable
Solar panel systems come in different sizes and are easy to take. Portable solar panels and power stations mean you can have electricity even if you have to leave home because of an emergency.
These systems are light and small but powerful enough to charge phones, run medical devices, or even power small appliances.
Benefits:
- Simple to carry and set up
- Useful for camping or outdoor trips
- Can charge small gadgets like phones
If you must leave for an emergency, portable solar panels can help you stay connected and powered up. Being ready with a portable power source can make a big difference when these things happen.
Portable
Using solar power without relying on the main grid helps in emergencies and has long-term benefits for the environment and your wallet.
When you use less regular power, you help make the world cleaner and healthier. Grid power also comes from fossil fuels, which cause pollution and climate change. Solar energy, on the other hand, is clean and never runs out.
Benefits:
- Makes less pollution
- Saves money on energy bills over time
- It might qualify you for the tax break
Solar panel systems have become much cheaper in the last ten years. Investing in solar power now helps you in emergencies and saves you money in the future while also helping the planet.
Note:
- Solar power keeps the electricity flowing during emergencies.
- Portable systems let you have electricity even when you’re not at home.
- Solar power is good for the environment and your wallet.
Using solar power during emergencies helps you have a reliable electricity source and makes the world cleaner and stronger for the future.
Solar Information for Emergency Preparedness
Getting Ready for Hot Weather and Bushfires
Handling Heat: Solar panels usually work well when it’s hot, but they might not work as well when it’s extremely hot.
To keep them cool, installing them in a way that lets air move around them is important. Also, regularly cleaning them helps them work better when it’s hot outside.
Staying Safe from Bushfires: It’s essential to have solar panels that can resist fire in areas with bushfires. Solar panels with certifications like the International Electromechanical Commission (IEC) 61730 test for fire resistance are the best choice.
These certifications ensure the panels can handle high temperatures and resist fires. Keeping flammable stuff away from solar panels can also help lower the risk of bushfires.
Coping with Storms: Being Ready for Cyclones
As more people use solar energy, we need solar panels to handle tough weather like cyclones. Solar Emporium is leading the way in this. We have worked hard to ensure their panels can withstand extreme weather.
This means Solar Emporium panels aren’t just good at making energy. Our panels can also withstand harsh weather, making them perfect for places with common storms.
Strong Installation: Securely putting up solar panels is important to ensure strong winds and storms don’t damage them. Using good quality mounting gear and getting them installed by pros helps keep them stable.
Protection from Surges: To keep solar systems safe from lightning and power surges during storms, it’s a good idea to use surge protectors. This helps prevent damage to the solar system caused by storms.
Resistance Against Salt-Mist Damage
Australia’s long coastline means solar panels face tough conditions with salty mist, which can damage them over time.
Panels undergo tough tests following international rules for salt mist damage (IEC 61701), and they get extra testing with the Taiwan VPC Authority.
In these tests, panels get exposed to salty mist and then heated to speed up damage. They get certified to level 6, which means they’re great even in places with lots of salty air, like coastal areas.
Long-Term Safety and Guarantees
Choosing solar panels with good guarantees and insurance gives peace of mind. Solar Emporium offers a 25-year Product and Performance Guarantee, promising your panels will work well for a long time.
Get a free solar quote from our experts and check out our solar packages with the best prices.
Solar panel insurance is also important because it protects against fire, storms, theft, and animal damage. Ensure the panel maker is an Australian company to ensure Australian laws cover any claims and guarantees.
Thorough Certifications for Tough Conditions
Strict Australian tests ensure panels can handle the harshest Australian conditions. It’s essential to check how well panels do in these tests to ensure they’ll last.
Solar Emporium goes beyond the usual tests by doing extra ones, like exposing panels to salty mist for longer, to ensure they’re strong and durable. They meet not only Australian standards but also international ones.
What is Emergency Solar Management?
Starting from February 28, 2023, all new or upgraded rooftop solar systems with an inverter size of 5kW or less must have the ability to be controlled remotely or turned off during emergencies.
These rules were made on February 14, 2022, after a suggestion from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), which runs the power system.
If you applied for a solar panel system before February 14, 2022, and it was installed before March 14, 2022, you don’t need to follow these rules. But if it still needs to be installed by March 14, 2022, you must apply again and follow the Emergency Solar Management rules.
Here’s what these rules mean:
- They only apply to new or upgraded rooftop solar systems. If your system was put in or upgraded before February 14, you don’t have to follow them.
- They won’t stop power to your home during emergencies. They’ll just lower how much electricity your solar panels make. You’ll still get power from the regular grid.
- They’re only for emergencies and will only be used a little. They’re meant to keep power going for everyone when things are critical.
- They’ll only affect homes if there’s no other choice. They’ll try other things first, like lowering big power plants.
- They’ll let more people have solar power in the long run. By handling emergencies better, they can put in more solar rooftops.
There’s a plan to make it, so these emergency rules are optional. This includes investing in energy storage, making virtual power plants from customer devices, and letting customer devices help with energy.
Why is Emergency Solar Management Required?
Lots of people in Western Australia are installing rooftop solar panels quickly. In 2020, they added more than 300 megawatts (MW) of solar power; in 2021, they added about 370 MW, setting new records for both years.
Almost one out of every three homes now has solar panels, and during the middle of the day, solar power can provide up to 64% of all the electricity we need. This huge increase in solar energy is changing how we get and use electricity.
But having so much solar power can cause problems for our electricity system.
The issue comes when a lot of solar power is being made, but only a few people use electricity from the regular power grid.
This usually happens on nice, sunny weekends in spring and fall, when businesses aren’t using much electricity, and people don’t need air conditioning.
During these times, we don’t need as many big power plants running because we don’t need as much electricity. But those big plants do important things to keep the electricity system working.
They help keep the electricity flowing smoothly, like a power line breaking, even if something goes wrong. They also help when there’s a sudden change in how much electricity we require or make.
If we don’t have enough of these big power plants running, our electricity system could have big problems, like many people losing power simultaneously.
