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Poorly secured plug-in solar panels won't survive a winter storm. Here's what to check and adjust now – before it's too late.
Senior Contributing Editor
Senior Contributing Editor
October 19, 2026, 11:36 am ET
For a lot of people, this will be their first winter with their plug-in or balcony solar system (for simplicity and brevity, I’ll use the term “plug-in solar” from this point on). They’ve had a summer of the panels busily harvesting power and pushing it to their hungry devices, saving them a few dollars.
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But the darker months are approaching. Shorter days, more clouds, a feebler sun when it is out, and fewer dollars saved.
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Winter is coming, and from all accounts, it looks like it might be a warmer, wetter one thanks to the very strong El Niño pattern forming. With that in mind, there’s no time like the present to get your solar setup ready for what’s ahead.
I want to begin by dispelling the myth that plug-in solar offers a great way to weather power outages.
It’s not. In fact, the microinverter, the gadget at the heart of plug-in solar systems, is designed to shut down when the grid goes down as a safety feature.
No grid, no plug-in solar.
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If you want to get around this, you’ll need to add a battery to the system. This changes your plug-in system into a home battery system, which is a different, and usually more expensive, animal.
Yes, plug-in solar systems are designed to be up year-round. All the panels, cabling, and fittings are built to survive the sort of thing you’d expect your home to weather.
But the thing with plug-in solar kits is they’ve been designed with DIY installation in mind.
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That’s great and all, but this is where readers split into two: those who don’t know how awful people can be at DIY and those who know (cue the Traumatized Mr. Incredible meme).
I’ve seen the sort of installation the average person carries out. Broken fittings, solar panels zip-tied to railings, trailing cables, and everything flapping in the breeze are all far too common.
If you have any doubts relating to the quality of your installation or any nagging feeling that you cut corners and left ghosts that are going to come back to haunt you, and you live somewhere where you can expect heavy rain, winds, or snow/hail, you might be better off getting a professional to take a look or, if you don’t want to spend the money, taking the system down and packing it away for the winter.
I don’t say this lightly, but a panel breaking loose and flying off down the street is not only going to be costly and bring your plug-in solar fun to an end but also going to make you very unpopular with your neighbors.
Even if you decide to keep your panels up, I’d give serious thought to bringing them in for a storm, especially if the setup has quick-release clamps and it’s only going to take minutes.
OK, so you’re confident you’ve competently installed your plug-in solar gear. Good. Now go check it!
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Why? Because things can change over time, and it is good practice to check up on things every so often. I’ve fitted plenty of stuff, and done it properly, only to go back to it later to find some issue. Maybe a nut or screw has worked its way loose, or a cable is abrading against something, or maybe something has broken because “they don’t make things like they used to!”
It happens. Deal with it now before it has to handle being battered by a storm or crushed by snow. Here’s a quick checklist I use:
By that, I mean the angle of your panels. This only applies if you have an adjustable system, but a lot of panel mounting systems allow you to change the angle.
The best angle depends on your latitude, and the general rule of thumb for winter months (roughly November to February), since the sun is lower in the sky, is to set the tilt of your panels to your latitude plus about 15° from horizontal.
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What this means is if you’re in a southern location (like Miami, Houston, Jacksonville, or Phoenix), your angle should be around 40 to 48°, and for northern cities (such as Minneapolis, Seattle, or Bismarck), the angle will be about 60 to 63°.
This steeper angle also helps shed snow.
Don’t feel you need to obsess over the angle down to the degree, as output losses are pretty small for errors up to 5°. But I do suggest you use the level app on your phone instead of trying to eyeball the angle, because no matter how good you think you are, eyeballing can be off by 10° or more.
Remember to readjust for the summer months (May to August) by setting the tilt to your latitude minus 15°. And if you want to get super precise, you could set the tilt angle during the shoulder seasons between summer and winter to roughly your latitude.
Shading is by far the biggest hidden winter loss. And if you put your panels up in summer, the shadow landscape around you might have changed considerably.
That tree, that house in the distance, trees, or those balcony railings might now be casting a shadow on your panels. However, that deciduous tree you thought would be problematic when looking at it in summer might now be bare and less of a problem.
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Some people might take this opportunity to reposition or relocate their panels for optimal solar harvesting; others will just leave them where they are because the few bucks’ worth of power they’ll collect over winter isn’t worth the hassle; and still others — especially those who live in stormy areas — might choose to put their panels away for the season.
There are some pretty good shadow map tools online that can help you get a lay of the land.
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