Hurricane season checklist for homes with solar and batteries

If you have solar panels and a storm is coming, there are three things to be clear about: the system will shut itself off when the grid goes down (even in full sun), a battery is the only thing that gives you backup, and the documents you save today are what your insurer will pay on tomorrow. This list is practical, not alarmist. Use it at the start of the season and go through it again whenever there is a watch or warning.

Why does the solar system shut off when the power goes out?

Because a grid-tied system is required to disconnect when the grid fails, so it does not send electricity into the lines while crews are working on them.

FPL explains it on its storm preparation page: it is standard across the energy industry for a private solar system to automatically disconnect from the grid during a power outage. The reason is safety: it prevents electricity generated by the panels from traveling through power lines and electrocuting repair crews. FPL’s net metering guidelines require an inverter that automatically isolates the system when the grid goes out.

There is sun, there are panels, and the house is dark. It is normal. The only way to have power during the outage is with additional equipment, such as a battery storage system, which FPL mentions explicitly. The guide on hurricane and outage backup explains what a battery can and cannot run.

Checklist before the season (June)

The things you do calmly, with no storm on the map.

Save everything to the cloud, not just your phone.

Checklist with a storm watch (48-72 hours out)

The things you do once there is a cone over Florida.

• Take fresh photos of the roof and panels from the ground. Date visible.
• If you have a battery, charge it fully and switch it to “backup” or “reserve” mode if your system allows it. Ask your installer how.
• If your installer told you to shut the system down, do it in the order the manual specifies. If they did not, do not improvise: systems are designed to disconnect on their own.
• Do not go on the roof. Do not remove panels. Do not “secure” anything with rope. The panels are attached to the structure by design; anything you do in wind is more dangerous than the storm.
• If you have a generator, read up on it separately: FPL has a specific safety guide. Never connect it to the electrical panel without a transfer switch installed by an electrician.

Heads up: a battery is not an endless generator. It runs what it was designed to run (refrigerator, some lights, specific outlets) for the hours its capacity allows, and recharges from the sun the next day if the system supports it.

Checklist after the storm

What to check once it is safe to go outside.

1. From the ground, not the roof. Look for shifted panels, hanging wires, broken glass. If you see something, do not touch it: call the installer.
2. Check the inverter. If grid power is back and the inverter does not turn on or shows an error, note it with a photo and the time.
3. Compare production. Once the grid is back, look at the app. If it produces less than the same period last year with no cloud cover to explain it, there may be damage you cannot see.
4. Document before repairing. The insurer wants to see the damage, not the repair. Photos, date, description.
5. Report to the insurer and the installer.

When is a battery NOT worth it just for hurricanes?

When the cost of the battery far exceeds what having power for a few days a year is worth to you.

A battery makes sense if you need to keep medical equipment running, if you work from home and losing days costs you money, or if you live in an area where outages are long and frequent. If your priority is lowering the bill and outages in your area last hours, the battery saves you nothing day to day: net metering uses the grid as if it were your battery. In that case, solar first, and a battery later if the need shows up. The guide on solar and hurricanes in Florida explains how panels behave in wind and what the state building codes require.

What to check before deciding

• Ask your installer, in writing, what your system does when the grid goes down and whether it needs to be shut off before a storm.
• Ask your insurer for written confirmation that the panels and battery are covered, and up to what limit.
• Have the “before” photos taken and saved to the cloud starting in June.
• If you are considering a battery, first define what you want to run and for how many hours. Without that, there is no way to size it.
• If you want to know which combination makes sense in your specific home, the diagnosis goes through it with your numbers.