Energies Media
In seconds, a hailstone can hit a solar panel and cause damage that can last for a long time.
Homeowners tend to look at the panel’s surface for any cracks or gaps. Impacts, however, can cause micro cracks that propagate under subsequent stress. Researchers in Ohio are working on panel edges, where cracks can start and spread into the glass. They work on hail up to the size of a golf ball or larger. The objective is real: prevent small problems from becoming big problems. What can engineers do to make glass stronger so it won’t be the next weak link in the storm?
At Bowling Green State University, scientists are studying raw glass samples and complete panels supplied by First Solar.
The University of Toledo and several BGSU science departments are also part of the project. The work is funded by an $850,000 grant through the Northwest Ohio Innovation Consortium.
In 2024, that consortium created a regional glass innovation hub. The partnership brings together Ohio’s manufacturing base and university laboratories.
The researchers are not replacing rooftop panels following storms. They are testing the treatments that manufacturers may use when making new modules.
Their attention rests on the glass edges. These areas may have minute imperfections that were formed during cutting, handling or manufacturing.
A panel can appear smooth on the surface, but have a starting point for failure. When stress is applied to that weakness, a crack may propagate inward.
The team watches those fractures start using commercial materials. It then explores strategies to slow, remove, or prevent them.
That makes the edge winning.
Homeowners don’t have to see large hail break through every panel to have trouble.
The Department of Energy cautions that impacts can result in unseen cracks in the glass cells under the surface. Those cracks can grow and decrease yields.
There can also be some damage that can lead to hot spots or electrical hazards. Specialized imaging following a storm may be required to detect it.
Hail is the largest source of insured losses for solar systems worldwide. The risk escalates in thousands of exposed modules within various facilities.
Basic certification is not a representation of all real storms. Typical testing is done with 1-inch ice balls at approximately 51 miles per hour.
BGSU researchers are targeting golf-ball-sized hail and larger. Those stones provide a lot more impact energy than the basic test.
The difference is what makes stronger glass more than one lab. A module should be able to withstand shipping, installation, and years of exposure to the elements.
However, thicker glass is heavier, more expensive, and requires more manufacturing. The Ohio team is thus assaulting the weak edge from multiple angles.
The researchers are using four methods because panel failure may occur in multiple phases.
First, inorganic surface treatments aim to heal microscopic cracks before they grow. This is done to vulnerable glass during lab development, not after rooftop installation.
Second, hybrid organic coatings are formulated to protect the glass from damage if hail strikes the glass and transfers energy.
Third, laser edge-delete changes eliminate or modify structural weaknesses at the glass boundary.
Lastly, quicker screening systems show the way glass breaks and the way fractures move through each sample.
These tools are used simultaneously to attack the same sequence. A defect is created, stress is applied, and the crack grows.
If the treatments are effective, manufacturers may be able to make glass that can withstand more impact without adding more material.
Joseph Furgal, the project’s leader, said that stronger glass may be thinner and lighter. Lower cost glass may then be competitive with higher cost products.
This may lower replacement expenses, insurance claims, shipping weight, and disruptions to electricity generation.
The university’s March 2026 update did not report a commercial panel complete. It referred to laboratory testing and predicted early results for that summer.
The research is not a substitute for other protections. Damage can still be minimised through stronger frames, careful choice of modules, and storm-positioning systems.
No panel is hail-proof under all conditions of hail size, wind speed, and impact angle.
The realistic promise is durability, not immunity. Engineers want to eliminate weak starting points before they become visible fractures due to weather effects.
The word “freezing” in the headline is therefore used in a figurative sense. Researchers do not freeze cracks within a panel.
They are attempting to prevent the crack from growing and becoming permanent before another impact occurs.
The critical test could be already taking place at the edge of the panel, within imperfections that are too small to see.
Ohio’s researchers are trying to strengthen that boundary before storms expose it. Their approach is still laboratory, not a completed promise.
It would be a quiet success after each storm that swept across America’s growing solar market. When a hailstone strikes, the glass bends and the crack does not travel.
Daniel García is an Editor-in-Chief with strong expertise in structural work and engineering principles. He combines this technical foundation with deep knowledge of energy, spatial design, and emerging technologies, bringing a forward-thinking and analytical approach to editorial leadership.
Daniel García is an Editor-in-Chief with strong expertise in structural work and engineering principles. He combines this technical foundation with deep knowledge of energy, spatial design, and emerging technologies, bringing a forward-thinking and analytical approach to editorial leadership.
Daniel García is an Editor-in-Chief with strong expertise in structural work and engineering principles. He combines this technical foundation with deep knowledge of energy, spatial design, and emerging technologies, bringing a forward-thinking and analytical approach to editorial leadership.

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