Solar panels in sunlight without being hooked up

Crystal

Can solar panels have direct sunlight shining on them without being wired to the rest of the components or should we cover them?
We are in the process of installing the rest of the components, but will have the panels mounted first. Will this be a problem?
Thank you in advance for the advice.
~Crystal

SlimDiesel

Re: Solar panels in sunlight without being hooked up

Not a problem. My 18 SolarWorld SW230's sat on the roof for about three weeks between when the installer put them there and the inverter was connected to the grid. The panels were wired in 2 strings to the inverter but the DC disconnect was off.

BB.

Re: Solar panels in sunlight without being hooked up

As SlimDiesel said--Full sun will not hurt unconnected panels (plug ends should be protected from short circuit/touching metal--there is still available power there that could cause a problem)...

The bigger question is "are the panels someplace safe and secure so that they will not be damaged by kids/wind/tools" (i.e., properly mounted on the roof)?

Any hard knock on the panels, and you will have shattered tempered/safety glass and $xxx of scrap.

-Bill

Crystal

Re: Solar panels in sunlight without being hooked up

Thanks for the quick reply. We will be mounting them in place, but it will be some time before we can get to hooking them up. I'm sure I will have more questions along the way.