Believe It or Not: Thieves Stealing Solar Panels from Houses

(Photo courtesy NY Times)

Stealing copper pipes from abandoned or foreclosed homes is so yesterday. The latest object of house thieves’ desires are solar panels. According to the NY Times, California is experiencing a rash of solar panel burglaries — sometimes with the thieves climbing up on the roofs and boldly taking the panels while the owners sleep inside.  Then the thieves either sell them on the side or put them up for sale on the Internet.

For Tom McCalmont, president of Regrid Power, a solar installation business near San Jose, the problem hit home in late June. His own headquarters was struck by thieves, who took more than $30,000 worth of panels from the roof.

The panels were disassembled expertly, he said, leading him to suspect that someone in the solar industry had done it. He urges clients to install video cameras and alarms for their solar arrays, and likens his own revamped security system to Fort Knox.

“This is the crime of the future,” Mr. McCalmont said.

No — this seems to be the crime of the present. Watch your panels, people!