Prevent Baseball Damage to Solar Panels

Living near baseball fields often causes problems for solar panel owners. Baseballs often go wayward and can fly high to accidentally smash solar arrays. Now, this can become a regular affair and before you know it, you are left with a broken solar module or even a complete solar system breakdown.  

Watching a baseball game is one thing, but getting hit by a pop fly is another thing. Solar system owners invest a lot in solar panel installation but can see frequent broken panels as a recurring repair and replacement cost.  

Solar Panels and Baseball Damage 

Let’s look at how these innocent looking baseballs can steal your peace of mind! Here are some of the potent risks they can cause to your solar panels: 

Reduction in Energy Production: When a baseball shatters a solar panel glass surface it disrupts the sunlight from entering the photovoltaic cells underneath. Solar systems are unable to produce optimal energy leading to potential financial losses for owners.  

Safety Hazards: The broken glass from baseball hit impacts are a major safety risk to anyone in its vicinity. Glass shards might fly from smashed solar panels causing mild to severe injuries to anyone nearby. Moreover, they can also damage equipment or property as well. Baseball impact netting is the need of the hour to prevent such casualties and injuries to people.  

Complete system shutdown: Solar modules are generally manufactured to withstand the common weather elements. However, in some cases rainwater can penetrate cracked and broken solar panels causing complete system breakdowns. When the glass surface of the solar panel gets shattered, it invites rainwater to seep into internal components possibly resulting in electrical shocks, corrosion and other serious damage, leading to a complete solar system shutdown.  

Invest in impact netting to prevent baseball damage

The baseball impact energy is 180 times more energy than solar modules can withstand without breaking. This disparity between the force exerted by a baseball impact and structural integrity of a solar panel means “serious damage” without protective solar guard measures. It just highlights the vulnerability of solar energy systems to baseball hit impact especially when at a high speed! 

Solar panels are generally designed to resist impacts of 1-inch Hail stones with a weight of 0.26-oz and having energy of 1.26 joules.  Baseballs weigh 5.25-oz and 225 joules of energy.   

From the above, it is evident that baseballs can cause mild to serious damage to solar systems. It is the need of the hour or two for you to invest in a solar panel net like the Baseball Catcher Net to keep errant baseballs away from damaging your solar energy systems.  

This unique baseball netting effectively stops annoying baseballs from damaging your solar panels. The installation process is quick and simple. It can be done in just a few minutes on both rooftop and ground-mounted solar panels giving you the peace of mind all solar panel owners deserve! 

All You Need Is a Custom Net for Your Solar Panel Protection  

This unique solar net has holes small enough to block errant baseballs from breaking your panels. It has been specially engineered to block and redirect baseballs away from your solar array.  

Besides the Baseball Catcher Net, SolarNets also manufactures the GolfNet and the HailBlockerNet for protecting solar modules from golf ball strikes and hail respectively. They have smaller holes to block golf balls and hail stones from damaging solar panels. 

Baseball Catcher Net allows more sunlight to pass through due to the larger net holes, but still block baseballs.  

Figure:  Baseball Catcher Net on ground mounted array near baseball field

All these solar nets are versatile and can be attached to both ground-mounted and rooftop solar modules. They ensure your panels are protected against flying objects and adverse weather conditions like hailstorms. Their adaptability makes them a feasible solution for protecting your solar investments, ensuring their functionality and lifespan.  

Solar Net Supports 

Durable net supports are used for directly attaching the solar net to the rooftop (no need to drill holes) or the solar panel frame. 

Even if your solar array has an irregular shape, SolarNets unique online NetDesignerTool helps you to design custom solar netting to safeguard your panels round-the-clock. 

Multiple smaller nets are laid down on the ground to be connected with carabiner clips before they are mounted on the solar panel.  This affordable impact netting prevents solar panel damage by weather elements and other external threats. 

Solar Netting For Carports Near Sports Fields

Carports near sports fields serve as convenient shelters for parked vehicles, giving them  protection from weather elements. However, their closeness to playing areas makes them susceptible to baseball damage or other projectiles hit by aspiring sluggers during practice or sports tournaments. 

Damage occurs when the pop fly goes past the outfield and hits a solar carport instead. Hard impacts may cause cracks and fractures of the surface glass of the solar panels. 

Repeated strikes over time can aggravate the damage, leading to weakened structural integrity of solar panel.  Broken solar panels sprinkle glass on the ground around the carport. Additionally, the cost of repairing or replacing damaged panels or support structures can be a hefty cost for the facility or organization responsible for maintaining the carport. 

It soon becomes evident that carports near sports fields are susceptible to damage. Investing in a solar net like the Baseball Catcher Net is a smart move!

SolarNets’ unique Net Designer tool offers users the capability to create tailored nets to fit specific requirements and dimensions. This online user-friendly tool allows for the customization of nets to suit various needs, whether it be for sports, agriculture, or industrial purposes. 

In the context of solar panels, Solar Supports play a crucial role in the protection of solar panels from potential damage caused by external factors, such as baseball impacts. By suspending the net 18 inches above the solar panel surface, these Supports ensure that the net has enough room to flex upon impact, thus absorbing the force generated by a baseball. Importantly, this setup prevents the net from making direct contact with the delicate glass surface of the solar panels, mitigating the risk of damage. 

Last but not least, the design of these solar nets and support system incorporates practical considerations for maintenance and seasonal changes. The nets are designed to easily clip onto support brackets, facilitating straightforward installation and removal. This feature streamlines the process of taking down the nets at the end of the season, enhancing convenience for users. 

By removing the nets during the off-season, their lifespan is extended, as they are not exposed to unnecessary wear and tear caused by heavy snow loads.  Additionally, by removing the nets during the off season allows maximum solar production.

In summary, the combination of the Net Designer tool, Solar Supports, and Removable Net System offers a comprehensive solution for protecting solar panels while optimizing maintenance and energy efficiency. 

So, why wait for your solar panels to be damaged by baseball strikes? To get started, reach out to our SolarNets Experts for the Baseball Catcher Net installation today. Protect solar panels and get the peace of mind you deserve. Call us now at 209-464-6100 or drop us a mail at info@solarnets.com