Hurricane Season and Solar on the Treasure Coast

What Florida code actually requires above your roof

The most useful storm-season conversation about solar is not about the panels. It is about what holds them on. Florida's 8th Edition (2023) Building Code references ASCE 7-22, and the 7th Edition (2020) before it adopted ASCE 7-16 — the edition that introduced the first explicit wind load criteria for rooftop solar arrays, a recognition that rooftop solar had previously been designed without dedicated code guidance.

Two methods apply. For arrays on low-slope roofs below 7 degrees, with limitations on panel length, tilt, and height above the roof, specific pressure coefficients apply with adjustments for parapets, panel length, and proximity to the roof edge. For panels installed close to and parallel to the roof — the typical residential configuration in this region — loads are calculated through roof component and cladding procedures with adjustments for pressure equalization, which reduces the wind pressure the panels experience.

The 7th Edition also updated roof component and cladding loads more broadly, and those changes produced significant increases in design wind pressures on roofs of buildings with mean roof height of 60 feet or less compared to ASCE 7-10 — in some cases roof pressures increased by 100 percent or more. ASCE 7-22 then revised the external pressure coefficients for gable and hip roofs with slopes greater than 7 degrees again, simplifying the roof zones from five down to three and generally lowering design pressures for many zones, though some zones were unchanged or slightly increased. The practical consequence for a homeowner is that the attachment detail, not the panel brand, is the variable most likely to determine whether an array stays in place.

Why solar alone goes dark in an outage

This is the single most misunderstood fact in residential solar, and it becomes urgent during a storm. Grid-connected inverters are required to be utility-interactive and are designed to shut down when the utility source is de-energized. This is not a defect or a limitation of a particular brand — it is a safety requirement that prevents a system from backfeeding a de-energized line while crews are working on it.

The consequence is that during a grid outage, a standard grid-tied system without backup equipment provides no power from the panels, regardless of how much sun is available. A homeowner who assumed otherwise may discover the reality at the worst possible moment.

Backup capability changes this. An approved configuration that can safely isolate the home from the grid can supply selected circuits. Depending on the equipment, that can be a battery or specialized solar-only backup. Solar-only backup depends on available sunlight; storage extends operation beyond those conditions. Whether that capability is worth the cost depends on which circuits are backed up and for how long — a load-driven question rather than a default recommendation. Sizing backup around a specific list of essential loads produces a defensible answer; sizing around a general desire for backup usually does not.

What to do before landfall — and what not to do

Storm preparation for a solar array is mostly documentation and inspection work done well before a storm has a name. Removal inside a watch window is generally not realistic: disconnecting an array, removing it, storing it, and reinstalling it is a permitted electrical and structural operation, not a task that can be safely completed in the days before landfall when trades are fully committed and conditions are deteriorating.

The higher-value preparation happens in the off-season. Establish a dated production baseline from monitoring while the system is known to be working. Confirm the racking and attachment documentation is on file. Photograph the array and the roof. Confirm with the insurance carrier how the system is covered and at what value.

The most commonly skipped step is monitoring access. If an owner cannot log in and see production, there is no baseline, and without a baseline there is no way to demonstrate that a system underperformed or was damaged. Restoring monitoring access is frequently the cheapest and highest-leverage item on a storm-prep list.

• •Capture a dated production baseline from monitoring while the system is performing normally
• •Confirm racking and attachment documentation is on file and reflects the installed system
• •Photograph the array and roof condition, including attachment points where visible
• •Confirm with the insurance carrier how the array is covered under the dwelling policy
• •Verify monitoring access is held by the current property owner, not a former installer
• •Schedule any inspection or service well outside the pre-landfall window

Insurance, documentation, and preserving a claim

Solar panels permanently attached to a home are typically treated as part of the dwelling structure under a standard homeowners policy, subject to the policy's deductible and coverage terms. That is the general treatment, not a guarantee for every policy or carrier, and the specific terms are what determine an outcome. Confirm coverage with a licensed insurance professional rather than assuming.

The reason documentation matters is that a claim requires demonstrating what changed. A production baseline showing normalized output before an event and degraded output after it is evidence. A photograph of the array before the season and after a storm is evidence. An assertion that the system used to work better is not.

Two structural details are worth confirming before an event, because they are difficult to reconstruct afterward. First, whether the array is included in dwelling coverage and at what value — replacement cost treatment differs from actual cash value. Second, whether the attachment system's wind rating and product approval documentation are on file, since a carrier evaluating wind damage will look at whether the system was engineered for the applicable wind loads.

If your system predates you, or predates the current code

A significant share of the systems in this region were installed years ago, sometimes by an installer that is no longer operating, and often on a roof that has since been replaced or repaired. Each of those conditions creates a documentation gap that surfaces at exactly the wrong time — during a storm claim, a roof project, or a sale.

Three things are worth verifying on an inherited or aging system. First, whether the attachment hardware matches what was specified and is appropriate for the roof type. Second, whether the interconnection agreement and monitoring account reflect the current owner. Third, whether any roof work since installation involved removing and reinstalling the array, because a reinstallation is where attachment quality is most likely to have changed.

This is also where an underperforming system is most likely to hide. A system that has lost production gradually over years does not announce itself; it simply bills more. Monitoring access plus a baseline is what converts a vague sense that bills went up into a measurable finding that a partner can act on.

• •Verify attachment hardware matches the specified system and suits the existing roof type
• •Confirm the interconnection agreement and monitoring account reflect the current property owner
• •Determine whether prior roof work involved array removal and reinstallation
• •Establish current production against a documented baseline before concluding a repair is needed

When storm damage means the array has to come off

Storm damage to a roof, or a roof replacement scheduled after one, triggers the removal and reinstallation sequence. This is a permitted operation in most cases: it involves electrical disconnection, structural detachment, storage, roof work, reattachment, reconnection, and re-inspection.

The permit authority is separate from the utility. County or municipal building departments issue the permit depending on where the property sits, and the utility interconnection requires coordination as well. Sequencing matters — a roof cannot be completed where the array remains attached, and reinstallation cannot proceed until the roof is ready to accept attachments.

Two details are commonly mishandled. First, storage: panels and racking need protected storage, and equipment that sits exposed during a roof project is equipment whose condition will be questioned later. Second, documentation of the pre-removal condition — photographing and recording the system before removal protects both the homeowner and the trades involved if condition questions arise afterward.

• •Confirm whether the permit authority is the county or a municipality before scheduling
• •Plan protected storage for panels, racking, and electrical components during roof work
• •Document the system's condition and production before removal
• •Confirm utility coordination requirements for disconnect and reconnection
• •Verify warranties — roof and solar — before work begins rather than after

Timing, trades, and the post-storm window

The demand pattern after a regional storm event is predictable: inspection and repair capacity is consumed by emergency roofing and structural work first, and solar-specific service capacity is limited. Homeowners who identify service needs in advance, or who have documentation ready when capacity opens, are served sooner than those who begin the process during the surge.

This is the practical argument for off-season review. A production review or monitoring restoration completed in a quiet month costs less attention from all parties than the same work requested during a regional recovery. It also means an owner enters storm season knowing the system's baseline rather than discovering its condition during an event.

For systems where the original installer has closed, the sequence is different from a warranty claim. A partner assessing such a system evaluates the actual equipment and condition, and manufacturer programs may or may not apply depending on equipment, records, location, and provider scope. Establishing what coverage may exist is a research step, not an assumption.

Questions to ask during storm season

Whether the context is a new installation or an existing system, these questions separate a documented answer from a hopeful one.

• •What is the racking manufacturer's wind rating, and where is the Florida product approval documentation?
• •How does the layout account for higher-pressure roof edge and corner zones under the wind criteria that apply?
• •Which specific circuits are backed up by the proposed storage system, and for how long at actual load?
• •Does my insurance carrier treat the array as part of the dwelling, and at what valuation?
• •Can I access monitoring today, and what does the last 12 months of production look like?
• •If this system predates me, has any prior roof work involved removing and reinstalling the array?
• •For removal and reinstallation around roof work, which permit authority applies to this parcel?
• •If the original installer has closed, what manufacturer programs could still apply to this equipment?