A solar panel itself may be inherently resistant to emp to some extent.
Emp attack solar panels.
But they will continue to work and that s what important.
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.
Would solar panels survive an emp attack.
Just like with an emp attack the inverter generator and solar panels must be properly protected well in advance otherwise they will not work.
As a golden rule expect your solar panels to have their output reduced by around ten percent maybe a little more or a little less after an emp attack.
Here we have another asterisk because even though solar panels should technically survive an emp attack they will also be damaged.
Lastly a powerful emp attack can also be caused by a weapon specially designed to do that.
The good news is solar panels in and of themselves contain very little electronics that could be affected by an emp.
Surprisingly enough solar panels can weather an emp fairly well.
The more solar panels you have the higher your risk of having damage from an emp attack.
To protect solar panels wrap each panel individually in thick plastic.
The bad news is they re usually connected to wires with current flowing through them which makes them susceptible to damage.
What we do know is that emps are caused by both nuclear explosions and by the sun i e.
Solar activity spews solar radiation which sometimes hits the earth and causes the earth s magnetic field to re radiate powerful e3 emp toward the earth s surface.
Luckily such weapons are very rare and not that powerful to cause a major emp attack so this is less of a concern.
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.
Because of a multitude of factors that would affect solar panels during an emp such as the magnitude of the emp event it s difficult to say for sure what kind of protection is needed to completely protect electronics from the its effects.
The affected area can be as small as a few hundred mile radius or can be so large that it can affect the entire planet.
The one part of your solar panels that are likely to be affected are the diodes which send energy from your panels to the battery bank in your home.
The most threatening emp event can be caused by our own sun if it ejects a large amount of energy in the direction of our planet.
Especially if you have a complex setup with strings of diodes or rows of photovoltaic modules.
But if damage occurs it is likely due to the wires between the solar panel and most often the solar charge controller.
