# Protecting Solar Panels From EMP



## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

My prepping includes having some electric capabilities in the chance of an extended grid down scenario. I have ten 280 watt panels, 2 Humless solar generators ( a new sponsor here), a Grundfos flex well pump, and a few other solar devices & smaller panels. Plan is to use 6 of the panels to power the well pump with direct DC current & 2 of the panels to charge the solar generators. Two panels are in reserve to provide extra power where needed, say on a cloudy day and/or to power some direct DC water tank heaters. Worst case grid down would of course be an EMP attack and I'm gradually trying to get where I more & more can have my gear survive that event. The Grundfos well pump is in its cardboard box & wrapped with many layers of foil & sitting high up on a shelf in the barn. My solar generators have been inside Faraday enclosures & lately I enhanced their protection by putting the contents inside EMP bags.



















Protecting the solar panels is a much harder proposition, at least for me. Typical of most things dealing with EMP, there is a lack of agreement on how vulnerable solar panels would be to EMP. Some say, if not connected to a system & just in storage, they would be fine. Others say they could easily be damaged. So to be safe, I finally got around to protecting two of them. This way, as a minimum I can at least charge up the solar generators. I plan on protecting more as I get the time. Basically all I did was take two panels & place them back to back, where the outside all around was smooth. I then wrapped in corrugated cardboard, with the smooth side facing the foil so as to not have valleys (or depressions) where the foil could easily get torn. We wrapped with 3 layers of very heavy aluminum foil and then wrapped again with the cardboard.


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## Salt-N-Pepper (Aug 18, 2014)

I've been considering what to do EMP wise for my solar panels...

I've got the controllers and non-panel electronics double shielded... but the panels? Not yet.

Thanks for the info!


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## stowlin (Apr 25, 2016)

If there were an emp and you had quiet clean juice your a king. The only problem is most can't afford solar for their homes now let alone solar set aside for such an event. Nice job.


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

From what I understand that while panels are fairly EMP resistant if they did have a problem it would be failure of the diodes in the box on the back of the panel. On some panels you can replace the diodes using a soldering iron.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

stowlin said:


> The only problem is most can't afford solar for their homes now let alone solar set aside for such an event.


I guess maybe it is like what some conservatives are saying about healthcare. Many folks that say they can't afford to pay for a policy can somehow find the money to have the newest iPhone... or car, or clothes, cigarettes, booze, drugs, or manage to eat out most every night.

Me, I don't drink much of anything, don't do drugs, don't gamble, don't take vacations, don't golf, drive an old truck, eat at home most every night, etc. Most of the clothes I wear comes from Sam's Club. Sure I can afford better but their jeans cover me as well as the fancy, expensive kinds. Basically, I'm a recluse that prefers to stay on my farm, with my wife of 38 years, when not at work & be left the hell alone. I spend my disposable income on preps, guns & ammo. I just get a good feeling deep inside every time I increase my preparedness.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

John Galt said:


> From what I understand that while panels are fairly EMP resistant if they did have a problem it would be failure of the diodes in the box on the back of the panel. On some panels you can replace the diodes using a soldering iron.


I've read that too & tried to research getting replacement boxes for the back of the panels, but didn't see that item. The more I studied on that, the more I realized I was getting beyond my capabilities. Electrician I ain't, but I can wrap the snot out of foil.


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## Chiefster23 (Feb 5, 2016)

I purchased replacement diodes for my solar panels and store them in an EMP proof container. I also have a small butane torch for soldering without electricity. FYI. Just open the box on the back of your solar panel and copy the info on the diodes. I purchased mine from AMAZON for just a few dollars.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

How deep is your well *******?

We are currently in the process of building a house at our BOL. I looked at doing some solar because without water in the desert, we are literally dead in a few days. But opted to not do it at this time because the inverter/charge controller for the system we were looking at was about $8,000 - $9,000 and our builder said they need to be replaced every 7-8 years. Instead, I went with a 1,500 gallon above ground tank. However, that does not give me a great deal of comfort. So I am still considering a solar backup at least for the well. We are presently at 540 feet on the well and the pump we bought is supposedly good down to about 900 feet. So it draws a bit of power.


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

Inor said:


> How deep is your well *******?
> 
> We are currently in the process of building a house at our BOL. I looked at doing some solar because without water in the desert, we are literally dead in a few days. But opted to not do it at this time because the inverter/charge controller for the system we were looking at was about $8,000 - $9,000 and our builder said they need to be replaced every 7-8 years. Instead, I went with a 1,500 gallon above ground tank. However, that does not give me a great deal of comfort. So I am still considering a solar backup at least for the well. We are presently at 540 feet on the well and the pump we bought is supposedly good down to about 900 feet. So it draws a bit of power.


Check with your local Grundfos distributor in your area @Inor. They can recommend drillers as well. I am not on the water well side of things but Grundfos is an extremely innovative company and a leader in the solar pumping system field. I understand their solar water pump set ups are terrific. The water well guys in my company here in Texas sell the hell out of em to ranchers and homeowners alike, especially west Texas.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Chiefster23 said:


> I purchased replacement diodes for my solar panels and store them in an EMP proof container. I also have a small butane torch for soldering without electricity. FYI. Just open the box on the back of your solar panel and copy the info on the diodes. I purchased mine from AMAZON for just a few dollars.


When I open the box, the cavity is filled with a soft, translucent material, which I'm sure is some type of waterproofing. I can see thru it some & see some do dads in there but I'm not prepared to pull all that out.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Inor said:


> How deep is your well *******?
> 
> We are currently in the process of building a house at our BOL. I looked at doing some solar because without water in the desert, we are literally dead in a few days. But opted to not do it at this time because the inverter/charge controller for the system we were looking at was about $8,000 - $9,000 and our builder said they need to be replaced every 7-8 years. Instead, I went with a 1,500 gallon above ground tank. However, that does not give me a great deal of comfort. So I am still considering a solar backup at least for the well. We are presently at 540 feet on the well and the pump we bought is supposedly good down to about 900 feet. So it draws a bit of power.


Damn, that is a deep well. My well is about 120' deep with the static water level way above that.

A Grundfos can run without all those expensive batteries, charge controllers & inverters, but obviously will only run when the sun is shinning (they also are designed to work off of wind too). But being in the desert, I guess you get plenty of sun. A normal pump motor will fail or burn up if the voltage gets off. The Grundfos will just pump less or shut down until it gets enough voltage. Basically the more watts you give it, the more it pumps. They have performance charts for their different models but in your case, with such a deep well, I agree with what stated above & talk with a rep. Here is a chart for one model showing performance as you go that deep. Looks like you would need around 1300 watts of solar output for the maximum depth you mentioned. No big deal as I have six 280 watt panels dedicated to the well, and that is over 1600 watts. I have to worry more about cloudy days than you, so I went with extra panels for just such days. But if you follow the 820 foot depth line down, you can see you would get a trickle at around 600 watts & over 4 gallons a minute at 1300 watts. AT 540 feet you would get more water with less watts. A rep might find a better pump for your needs but this shows you such a system could easily fill your 1500 gallon tank every day. That then opens up the use of drip irrigation & growing your own food, which would be rather important at a BOL.

Also, with these pumps, you have to factor extra wattage if you have a pressure tank, as I do. The well pump has to push that much harder to overcome the pressure in the tank. I doubt your storage tank is a pressure tank so in that case, this would not apply. A rep can help all to get the proper configuration for your setup.










For reference, here is the chart for my model.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

Thanks for the info guys!


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

******* said:


> When I open the box, the cavity is filled with a soft, translucent material, which I'm sure is some type of waterproofing. I can see thru it some & see some do dads in there but I'm not prepared to pull all that out.


There are probably 3 diodes buried in that silicone, my larger panels are the same way. I read an article with pictures about a guy who carefully dug the diodes out on several panels using an Xacto knife (razor blade) and soldered in new diodes. It worked on 3 of the 5 panels but took hours. Still, I keep some large diodes around.

My older smaller panels don't have silicone in the box so the diodes are easy to get to.


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