How to protect solar panels from theft?
According to many top experts in solar-derived energy, you can expect to see a revolutionary trend of rising growth in this market for decades to come.
Also, as solar panels become a hot new product for homeowners to install on their property, there is a significant rise in solar panel theft, too.
With that said, here are 11 things that you can do to prevent solar panel thieves from successfully stealing your investment.
1. Use a solar panel lock to deter theft
Similar to any other valuable piece of property that you own, you need a plan to protect your assets. Simply put, you need to consider what types of solar panel security options are available to you today.
Since the value of your solar panels can range into tens of thousands of dollars and more, you may not be able to afford such great losses.
Therefore, you need to take the appropriate measures to ensure the panels cannot be easily stolen. For instance, you should look into investing in solar panel locks. Solar panel locks are often viewed as a reliable and very effective theft deterrence solution.
Furthermore, by buying the right type of locks for your particular solar panels, you can prevent intruders from simply walking away without any resistance, especially after they have been professionally installed.
Solar panel locks can also minimize the risks of losing your entire financial investment, and it will make it less convenient for an intruder to target your home again.
2. Install your panels on the roof so they are not visible from the ground
When you are shopping around for the best solar panels for your home, there is a range of decisions that have to be made. One of the most important decisions is determining where on your property that these solar panels will be installed.
Since these decisions can vary from home to home and owner to owner, you may want to factor in a number of different essential things, including protecting your property from theft, too.
For instance, if you do not want any solar panel thieves to target your home’s set-up, a good place for the installation is on the roof of your home.
Roofing installations make it difficult for most people to see the panels from the ground.
By using this strategy, the thieves will need to look around the property to find them. A roofing installation can also help to avoid theft issues caused by someone simply walking by or driving by your property.
3. Keep your panels clean and free of debris so they do not appear as easy targets
In addition to installing your home’s solar panels out of sight, there are other things that you can do to prevent theft.
If you do not want thieves to pay special attention to your property and other things that they see on your grounds (i.e. solar panels), you avoid unnecessary scenery that stands out.
For example, if your panels are packed with dirt and other kinds of debris, they may look like they are neglected or not working properly at all.
Instead, you want to make sure that your panels are clean and pristine at all times. By taking special care, you can avoid your home’s solar panels from becoming the first target in your neighborhood.
Similar to taking good care of your lawn and taking out the trash regularly, the thief needs to know that you are at home and diligent about keeping up and protecting your investments.
4. Get to know your neighbors and ask for their help in keeping an eye on your Solar Panels
As referenced before, you need a good reliable plan to protect your solar panel investment. If you do your research, the plan you put together can be a comprehensive solution that covers a diversity of measures that you can take.
From buying the best solar panel locks for the installation on your roof to getting your neighbors involved with your anti-theft measures, you should use all resources available to protect your investment.
In some cases, your neighbors may already be members of the neighborhood hood watch. Or, your neighbors maybe your good friends. Whatever the case, you can ask people who live close to your proximity to help keep a watch to prevent solar panel thieves from stealing your property.
5. Place the panels in an area that is not easily accessed by thieves
A big part of installing your new solar panels is finding the best places around your property to put them in place. Your installations are usually dependent upon following an energy-efficient green strategy.
For instance, the strategy that you will most likely choose is the one that generates the most energy for the rooms in your home.
Due to solar panel theft, however, this strategy has to also consider the possibility of theft. Therefore, when you determine where you should install your solar panels, you want to select areas on the property that thieves cannot get to.
For instance, you may install your solar panels on the ground in your backyard. However, before you make a decision to do this, you need to make sure that all of your solar panels are secured behind an iron rod fence that cannot be broken into.
6. Add motion-detecting lights around the property to discourage intruders
Today, there are many ways to protect your home, your family, and the assets that you possess on your property. In fact, if you are like most homeowners, you may have the financial resources available to select multiple safety options.
Since solar panel theft is constantly on the rise, the methods of protecting your family and property can differ greatly based on how efficient it works.
For instance, if you are looking for more levels of security to protect your solar panel investment, you may want to consider installing motion sensor lights in specific places around your installation.
Motion sensor lights are ideal for many reasons. With the use of motion sensor lights, the activity on your property can easily be detected. For instance, if a solar panel thief tries to steal your panels late in the night, everyone in the home will be alerted of their presence.
Additionally, when these lights blink on and off, the thieves know that they are being watched. Motion sensor lights are a perfect deterrence for keeping strangers away from your property and other belongings you value.
7. Put up signs warning people of the danger of tampering with electrical equipment
To keep your solar panels safe from intruders entering your property, another effective method is putting up warning signs.
In some cases, trespassing signs may not solve your problems, especially since these types of signs are relatively easy to ignore.
On the other hand, if you really want to deter thieves from stealing valuable property, you can give specific warning information. These warning signs are usually more explicit in nature and will warn everyone about dangerous electrical problems that can occur. Electric fences will help you achieve this goal.
For instance, if an intruder tries to un-install your solar panels so that they can move them to a different place, they may run into issues that may cause them to be shocked or electrocuted.
Whatever the situation or circumstances, these signs can prevent people from thinking that it's an easy, quick, and safe job.
Instead, anyone that tries to steal the solar panels off of your property may be seriously injured or killed. In short, these types of precautionary dangerous warning signs can be very effective in keeping burglars away.
8. Invest in security cameras and alarm systems for added protection from burglary and vandalism
In many cases, the burglars that steal solar panels are familiar with the high cost of the items that they are targeting.
Therefore, they may do almost anything to make sure that they are successful. Actually, if they are desperate enough, they may even hang out at the target home day and night, until they have stolen the items that they wanted.
That said, to plan for any situation that may happen, you can prepare the property by installing security cameras and alarms.
Security cameras are essential and very instrumental in getting pictures of any intruder or unauthorized persons that enter your property and can be used to ID suspects.
Simply put, the burglars will not get away but can be reported to the authorities, particularly when these are people everyone knows.
Additionally, if you install alarms on your property, you can catch thieves in the act before they can complete unlawful activities. Security alarms can be used to deter thieves from taking down your solar panels, and from completely vandalizing these areas of your property.
Moreover, when a burglar knows that your property is protected with a security alarm system, they tend to target other homeowners in your neighborhood.
9. Get insurance coverage for your solar panels so you're covered if they are stolen or damaged
As stated previously, the cost of buying solar panels can vary greatly based on the type that you need for your home. With tens of thousands of dollars and more in investments at stake, you need to do everything that you can to prevent this kind of financial loss.
In other words, another way to protect your investment is to buy theft and damage insurance coverage for your solar panels.
By purchasing this type of coverage, the insurance company can pay you for your loss, especially if someone steals your solar panels from your property.
Similar to buying theft insurance for your home, you can buy theft insurance for your solar panels, too. Solar panel insurance will not only protect your financial investment but also give you peace of mind.
10. Do not Make It Easy for Criminals to Steal them: Make theft Actions as Difficult as Possible
If you leave a ladder on the outside of your home for everyone to see, you are making it very easy for burglars and thieves to steal your solar panels.
Again, because criminals may be waiting and watching for an opportunity to take what they need and want, you need to be crafty and smart about derailing their tactics before anything can happen.
For instance, if you want to get your solar panels back quickly after they have been stolen, you can provide a valid claim by engraving your panel frames clearly with your unique identification.
11. Use Installation Proof Installations by Affixing the Solar Panels Strategically
According to police authorities and professional criminals in this occupation, you may need a theft-proof solar panel plan that simply frustrates the burglar if they gain access to your property.
Yes, that’s right, you should always plan to go the extra mile.
For example, based on the rise of theft in your neighborhood, a burglar will do virtually anything to steal your valuable investment and it's often difficult to stop them.
For this reason, you need to devise a plan that involves arranging your solar panels in a manner that makes it virtually impossible to detach them individually from other solar panels in the installation.
If you can implement this part of your anti-theft plan correctly, you can also make it difficult for thieves to transport your panels from your property to another location.
However, before you implement this kind of anti-theft plan, you need to be aware of the terms of your warranty.
Since some solar panel module warranties can be voided, you need to know which options apply to your investment. For more information about this topic, review your owner's manual and relevant sites that address solar panel anti-theft alternatives.
Conclusion
Investing in solar-derived energy is increasingly popular in homes today. Many homeowners are taking advantage of its inherent financial benefits, including reducing a home’s utility bills, participating in green technology initiatives, and earning tax credits.
However, because some solar panel systems are relatively expensive to buy and install, you should also know that there is a significant rise in solar panel thefts, too.
To that end, you need to know what you can do to protect your property from thieves.
Based on the research that has been done, some of the best anti-theft measures include investing in solar panel locks, consider roofing installations, use motion-detecting lighting systems, put up warning signs on your property, invest in security alarms and camera systems, and design custom anti-theft measures to keep criminals from stealing your property.
