Will an EMP Destroy a Solar Generator?

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When you think about the Solar Panel and the system that stores the power, it will be safe for the panel’s structure, but the other components, including the inverter and battery systems, might be fried.

There will be a few primary effects on the panels and the system, from the overwhelming electric flow that could destroy the wiring and inner hardware of the panels and other components; to the damage caused by the overheated hardware and electronics.

Even if the panel hardware is spared from the effects of the blast, the inverter will suffer from the EMP’s pulse and render the system useless.

Will a Solar Generator Survive an EMP?

Let us set up the situation and an EMP wave has been sent out; the source is not a nuclear bomb and only contains the electromagnetic pulse.

When the pulse wave reaches the solar generator, the electric systems are exposed to unstable levels of electric stimulus that will cause the electronics and hardware components to overheat and possibly burst from the surge.

The physical hardware will keep its shape and will not lose form, but all functionalities will be lost because of the fried transistors and inverter, not to mention the battery energy storage electronics and hardware.

 

How Can You Protect Your Solar System from EMP?

There will be multiple ways for a person to protect their systems from EMP signals, either man-made or from the sun.

The easiest one is to switch the circuits to include surge protection technology. There is another route that will protect all electronics within its perimeter.

This will build a Faraday Cage, a metal or mesh structure that encircles the area with the electronics systems and protects them by blocking outside energy waves from entering the cage and getting to the hardware.

These can be expensive to procure and build but will be worth it for tech-savvy personnel.

 

What will Block an EMP?

Many different materials can be used to help shield an electronics hub or solar power generation system. Most of them will be metallic but include the Faraday Cage, as mentioned in an earlier section of this article.

In today’s technology world, high electric field-resistant meshes and fabrics can be combined with carbon fiber materials and insulation foams to create a protective shell for the system’s hardware.

There will also be bunker-type structures that can be built from concrete, which are effective against EMP signals. The concrete will absorb and dissipate the electromagnetic pulse, preventing it from ever reaching the electronics systems inside.

 

Can an EMP Go through Concrete?

As we referred to in the section before, concrete will effectively block and absorb the energy from an Electromagnetic pulse and dissipate it through its structure.

The energy from the blast will travel as it will through the air, but once it reaches the conductive metallic material, it becomes heat and is released in that form.

The idea was for roads to help with melting snow and other winter conditional hazards that cover the roads due to inclement weather. A happy mistake was when they found the material to be EMP-proof and relatively conductive during the testing phase.

 

Will Batteries Survive an EMP?

There will be two scenarios that will spell out the survival and doom of the battery systems of a solar power collection station.

One, the systems are exposed and not insulated, and the massive coronal ejection from the sun will fry the electronics, hardware components, and any other systems uninsulated.

The other scenario comes with a system safely placed in a Faraday cage.

Underground in a concrete bunker, with the wiring systems insulated in carbon fiber and concrete tunneling and the same protection for the inner hardware and electronics systems of the solar panels themselves.

 

Final Thoughts on Will an EMP Destroy a Solar Generator

Solar panel energy collection is a very convenient way to power the home, but it will take some planning to protect it from all possible dangers.

For example, solar flares are the most common source of Electromagnetic pulses with the power to do actual harm to your solar panel systems.

The newest innovation to protect these systems will be a carbon fiber mesh-like material that can insulate your wiring and exposed components.

When planning to store power, build a concrete bunker for your batteries to be housed in; this will protect them from just about any danger they can face.

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