Some Solar Panels Are Getting Hot
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.24.08
Image: Noah Berger for the New York Times
According to the New York Times, solar panels are now hot. Kate Galbraith writes how Glenda Hoffman had sixteen panels vanish from her roof in three separate burglaries. “I have a shotgun right next to the bed and a .22 under my pillow,” Ms. Hoffman said.
Keith Hoffman, pictured above, lost 58 panels, which will cost $75,000 to replace, from his office building in Santa Rosa.
Missing panels, Palm Desert.
The president of a solar installation company now recommends video cameras and alarms for their solar arrays. “This is the crime of the future,” He says. ::New York Times
In the Times' new blog about green business, Kate Galbraith notes that it could be dangerous:
“Solar panels are high voltage,” said Tom McCalmont, president of Regrid Power, a California solar installer who recently lost over $30,000 worth of solar panels to thieves — from his company’s own roof. “You’re doing something extremely dangerous and could be severely shocked,” he said.
That's why most of the thefts happen at night. ::Green Inc
More Thievery in TreeHugger
Organized Crime Goes Green : TreeHugger
Recycling is Hot : TreeHugger
Platinum Theft : More On Recycling's Dark Side : TreeHugger
Urban Mining: Philadelphia is Losing its Manhole Covers : TreeHugger
Gisele Bündchen's new Campaign for Ipanema Supports Atlantic Forests
|
END Footwear Hits the Trail Running. But Not That You’d Know.
|
Unfortunately I have been waiting for this story to appear. I always wondered what if any securtity features were installed with solar panels and I guess the answer to that is none.
I'd never thought about this before, but now that I've read this I'm surprised no one in the business has.
Any investment of this magnitude should be secured. Cars have locks and alarms so that you know if someone is trying to take a car illegally. Many have tracking devices (Lowjack) so that if stolen, the property can be recovered. Not putting the same kind of security into equally expensive solar panels is just silly.
I hope that at the very least, installers of solar power systems will also install, or at least encourage, appropriate security systems.
There ought to be an industry standard for serializing and registering each panel. Make it easier to spot hot panels moving through the food chain.
I wonder if you could rig your grid tied system to electricute the crooks
something similar has happened here in hackney, london. although it's true they will steal just about anything around here