Solar Panel Damage ...from basketballs?

[GoodDaySolar]

Anyone heard of an incident where solar panels were used, say, on a garage over a basketball goal? And never got broken?

I assume panels are engineered to withstand enough pressure from missed goals, but I wanted to check out anyone with direct experience.

Or, if you know engineering standards for panels and can calculate the potential impact from a typical fast-traveling basketball, even better.

Ken Oatman
Boulder, Colorado

[Mike90250]

Panels are tested for hail resistance, and just yesterday, golf ball lumps fell in Az, and thrashed cars, sideing, and shingles, but one person reported his panels were OK.

http://tinyurl.com/PV-hail-az-10-2010

I think a basketball is a pretty tough load to secure against, and at $700 for a large panel, get a portable hoop, and park that away from the panels.

- update - apparently, with light of day, the panels are all shattered, and homeowners insurance claim will be filed.

[solarc]

There are in glass industry actually ways to calculate the loads of so called soft impacts. The problem for you -when using standard pv panels- is not actually the load but the fact that you can't buy more rigid standard panels. Everything is fixed in dimensions and nothing can be changed - such as glass thickness, or framing,etc. - without loosing the certificates.

I propose three options:
#1 the cheapest and fastest one: get a portable hoop as mike suggests
#2 get a laminated glass from a glazing company and mount it in front of the pv panel. Disadvantage is that you'll loose minimum 20% of power output due to additional absorptiona and reflection on that glass.
#3 get a customized solar panel, where you can order the glass thickness suitable to your specific load. You might be surprised though how thick this glass will be when calculated according to the standards for buildings.
Cost might be also an issue in that case.

hope this helps.

Solarc