{"id":6312,"date":"2023-03-16T15:18:29","date_gmt":"2023-03-16T13:18:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/?p=6312"},"modified":"2023-03-16T15:18:29","modified_gmt":"2023-03-16T13:18:29","slug":"stolen-solar-panels-one-big-tip-to-reduce-the-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/stolen-solar-panels-one-big-tip-to-reduce-the-pain\/","title":{"rendered":"Stolen Solar Panels: One Big Tip to Reduce the Pain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/\"><strong>Solar panels<\/strong><\/a> are a commodity that can be stolen &#8211; often clients fail to see any missing and only discover their loss after interrogating their system as to why the expected yield is so low.<\/p>\n<p><strong>First let&#8217;s look at a few reasons why you cannot just replace a stolen solar panel with just any solar panel:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Most inverters are MPPT. MPPT or Maximum Power Point Tracking is an algorithm included in charge controllers used for extracting maximum available power from PV modules under certain conditions.<\/p>\n<p>Most inverters for domestic use have two MPPT&#8217;s and the solar panels will be connected in two strings to the inverter.<\/p>\n<p>Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems generate electricity via the photovoltaic effect &#8211; whenever sunlight knocks electrons loose in the silicon materials that make up solar PV cells. It follows then that any shading will reduce the output of any solar panel. In fact in his book, Renewable Energy and Efficient Electric Power Systems, Stanford University\u2019s Gil Masters demonstrates how shading just one out of 36 cells in a small solar module can reduce total power output by as much as 75%.<\/p>\n<p>The shading on a single solar panel is the \u201cweakest link,\u201d reducing all the remaining cells\u2019 power availability. By the same token if you have 6 Solar Panels in a string and one is stolen then that &#8220;weakest link&#8221; will pull down the entire strings production &#8211; a chain is only as strong as it&#8217;s weakest link.<\/p>\n<p>Electricity production from solar panels degrades by around 1% per year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>That follows then that when purchasing Solar Panels you have to be very cogniscant of:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Make sure that all solar panels are of the same make, type and size<\/li>\n<li>Make sure that all solar panels are manufactured at the same time<\/li>\n<li>Make sure that you have NO shading on any part of the strings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Any deviation from the above will lead to a compromise of production which, over many years, will cost you lots of money in failed production.<\/p>\n<p>If one or more of your Solar Panels is stolen then you need to make sure that your system is covered along with the Solar Panels.<\/p>\n<p>Insurance companies differ in how they will approach a claim for stolen solar panel\/s with some saying that if they cannot replace with the same then they will replace ALL, whilst others say that they will replace with the closest to the original. What these companies have not factored in is the degradation of 1% per year and still need to take into consideration that in the space of 10 years generally available solar panel sizes have increased from 180 watts to 550 watts.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>WHAT TO DO IN CASE YOUR SOLAR PANELS ARE STOLEN?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;When purchasing your system buy another 3 or 4 solar panels &#8211; of the same type, wattage and date of manufacture of those installed &#8211; to keep in storage. And, if the dreaded thieves make off with a few of your panels then you can at least come to an arrangement with your insurance company to &#8216;sell&#8217; your spares to them,&#8221; says <a href=\"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/\"><strong>Straton Solar<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6313\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6313\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trades.co.za\/a\/straton-solar\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-6313\" src=\"http:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Weakest_Link_Straton_Solar.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"542\" srcset=\"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Weakest_Link_Straton_Solar.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Weakest_Link_Straton_Solar-300x136.jpg 300w, https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Weakest_Link_Straton_Solar-1024x463.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Weakest_Link_Straton_Solar-768x347.jpg 768w, https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Weakest_Link_Straton_Solar-660x298.jpg 660w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6313\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Watch out for the weakest link when planning, purchasing, adding or replacing Solar Panels.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Solar panels are a commodity that can be stolen &#8211; often clients fail to see any missing and only discover their loss after interrogating their system as to why the expected yield is so low. First let&#8217;s look at a few reasons why you cannot just replace a stolen solar panel with just any solar [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6312","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-solar","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Weakest_Link_Straton_Solar-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Weakest_Link_Straton_Solar-600x542.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Alan","author_link":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/author\/alan\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Weakest_Link_Straton_Solar.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5HvVd-1DO","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6218,"url":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/press-release-which-province-offers-the-highest-roi-for-solar-power\/","url_meta":{"origin":6312,"position":0},"title":"Press Release: Which Province Offers the Highest ROI for Solar Power?","author":"Alan","date":"20 February 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"South Africa is a land blessed with abundant sunshine, not too much rain and cooling sea breezes. An ideal climate in which to utilise Solar Power to power our grid. There are a number of factors that contribute to a good ROI on a Solar Power Plant. Chat to Straton\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar","link":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/category\/solar\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/20151016_Ground_Based_Solar_Panels-700x466.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/20151016_Ground_Based_Solar_Panels-700x466.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/20151016_Ground_Based_Solar_Panels-700x466.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/20151016_Ground_Based_Solar_Panels-700x466.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":642,"url":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/installing-solar-panels-is-the-answer\/","url_meta":{"origin":6312,"position":1},"title":"Installing Solar Panels is the Answer","author":"Alan","date":"4 June 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"IT is time for South Africans to purchase photovoltaic (PV) solar panels for rooftops, storage batteries and inverters, so that load shedding becomes a thing of the past. One can still be connected to Eskom, but it would be as a back-up for long periods of cloudy weather or an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar","link":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/category\/solar\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6266,"url":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/more-about-the-solar-incentives-from-the-2023-budget\/","url_meta":{"origin":6312,"position":2},"title":"More About the Solar Incentives from the 2023 Budget","author":"Alan","date":"23 February 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Government has introduced a R9 billion tax relief programme to support South Africa\u2019s clean energy transition, increase electricity supply and limit the impact of consistently high fuel prices. The programme was on Wednesday unveiled by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana while delivering the 2023 Budget Speech at the Cape Town City\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar","link":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/category\/solar\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Straton Solar Enoch Godongwana Budget Speech 2023","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Straton_Solar_Enoch_Godongwana_Budget_Speech_2023.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Straton_Solar_Enoch_Godongwana_Budget_Speech_2023.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Straton_Solar_Enoch_Godongwana_Budget_Speech_2023.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6271,"url":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/where-the-solar-incentive-for-private-residences-falls-down\/","url_meta":{"origin":6312,"position":3},"title":"Where the Solar Incentive for Private Residences Falls Down","author":"Alan","date":"23 February 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A small tweak to the incentive will result in a 'payback' to Government Let's replace taxpayer cash to Eskom with Taxpayer Electricity to the Grid The recently introduced Solar Incentives in the 2023 Budget Speech presented by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on Wednesday 22 February have been widely welcomed by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar","link":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/category\/solar\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Straton Solar Enoch Godongwana Budget Speech 2023","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Straton_Solar_Enoch_Godongwana_Budget_Speech_2023.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Straton_Solar_Enoch_Godongwana_Budget_Speech_2023.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Straton_Solar_Enoch_Godongwana_Budget_Speech_2023.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":98,"url":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/case-study-maui-off-grid-luxury-smart-home\/","url_meta":{"origin":6312,"position":4},"title":"Case Study &#8211; Maui Off-Grid Luxury Smart Home","author":"Alan","date":"17 December 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"There is no denying that the cost of electricity in Hawaii is considerably higher than the rest of the US. With a heavy dependence on oil and the lack of a reliable centralized grid for backup throughout the islands, the average cost of residential electricity for the island of Maui\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar","link":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/category\/solar\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Maui Off Grid Smart Home","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/solar.straton.org.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Maui_Smart_Home.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/solar.straton.org.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Maui_Smart_Home.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/solar.straton.org.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Maui_Smart_Home.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/solar.straton.org.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Maui_Smart_Home.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":442,"url":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/saving-money-and-adding-comfort-with-residential-solar\/","url_meta":{"origin":6312,"position":5},"title":"Saving money and adding comfort with residential solar","author":"Alan","date":"25 February 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"As the cost of energy continues to increase, some utilities are charging more money per kilowatt hour at peak usage times. In some locations, power can be unreliable and inconsistent. What can a homeowner do to save money and ensure a level of comfort within their home that is independent\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar","link":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/category\/solar\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6312"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6314,"href":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6312\/revisions\/6314"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/straton.co.za\/solar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}