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| Solar Power System Safety |
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Everyone’s resources have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. You can help prevent locate delays by pre-marking your proposed dig area in white and notifying 811 of your planned excavation with as much lead time as is possible: up to 14 calendar days in California. To learn more about PG&E’s response to COVID-19, click here. |
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Solar panels and equipment are easily damaged, and they may carry live electrical current even when the sun is not shining. Follow these tips to protect system components—and to protect yourself from electrical shock.
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| Locate All Equipment |
| Ask the building owner or property manager to point out solar panels, conduits, batteries and all related equipment. Once you know the location of system components, take care to keep ladders, tools and supplies away from them. |
| Avoid Conduits, Panels and Pipes |
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Watch out for conduits. The conduits that lead away from an array of solar panels carry electrical current strong enough to severely injure or kill you if you make contact with the wires inside. Keep in mind that conduits may run from a rooftop down the outside of a building. |
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Keep a safe distance from solar panels. The top surfaces of solar panels are made of glass that will crack or break if a heavy object falls on them. If possible, maintain a 2- to 3-foot safety perimeter around panels and mounts. |
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Protect solar water heating systems. These systems heat water by circulating it through solar collectors. Take care around these installations and their input and output pipes. |
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| Be Alert for Underground Cables |
Buried cables that carry electricity from privately owned ground-level solar panels to homes and businesses may not be recognizably marked. If you must dig or move earth in any way near a ground-level solar panel, contact 811 and check with the property owner to locate underground electric lines. |
| Would You Like to Know More? |
| Additional utility safety tips, case studies, instructional videos and training tools can all be found, at no charge to you, on PG&E's e-SMARTworkers website. |
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