Solar PV - Bird Protection Yes/No?

[spon88]

Sorry, another solar one but I know quite a few folk on here have PV etc and I will get some sensible answers.

I have a fairly large E/W dual array being installed in October and the issue of bird protection has just cropped up. I'd pretty much dismissed it but there's a guy down the road from us having issues with nesting pigeons beneath his panels. You can actually hear and see the activity as you walk past. On closer inspection I can see around 50% of the installations around us have bird protection and now I look more closely, lots of pigeons about!

It's not cheap but I guess better to do it during the install rather than later. What is your experience with/without bird protection on your PV arrays please? I'm looking at a grand or so to add it I think, so not trivial.

 

[Tony Hoyle]

Never had an issue.. not really enough space under the panels to get a bird in anyway.

 

[browellm]

Sorry, another solar one but I know quite a few folk on here have PV etc and I will get some sensible answers.

I have a fairly large E/W dual array being installed in October and the issue of bird protection has just cropped up. I'd pretty much dismissed it but there's a guy down the road from us having issues with nesting pigeons beneath his panels. You can actually hear and see the activity as you walk past. On closer inspection I can see around 50% of the installations around us have bird protection and now I look more closely, lots of pigeons about!

It's not cheap but I guess better to do it during the install rather than later. What is your experience with/without bird protection on your PV arrays please? I'm looking at a grand or so to add it I think, so not trivial.

I would get it, but it clearly depends on your local area. We had pigeons in this year, 12 months after installing our PV. It cost me £580 to have it done and I suspect it would have been a fraction of that had I installed it at the same time as the panels. I wasn't even aware it was a thing when I had my installation done.

 

[ACarneiro]

Can’t say that I’ve ever noticed any bird issues under my panels. They’ve now been installed for nearly 2 years.
I suppose there could some variation between regions, mind you…
How much more would it cost?

 

[The Lorax]

Our neighbour had a small squirrel make its way under a panel, chew through a wire and start a fire that did significant damage to the house. He included new panels in his rebuild but this time had barriers installed to prevent it from happening again. Just saying.

 

[Regulo]

I have had pigeon issues both on my own installation and that of my aunt's. I got a local lad to fit mine retrospectively for a good price, but my aunt went for a national outfit at £540 (16 panels in a 2 x 8 arrangement). Both our arrays stand well proud of the roof tiles, but I have seen arrays fitted much lower, in which case I don't think pigeons could access them. Perhaps see what bracket arrangement yours will have? BTW, my aunt has a bungalow, and this year is the first time in 7 years she's had pigeons under the panels. I was told she wouldn't get pigeons on a bungalow, because cats can get up there. That's blown that theory away!

 

[Jason71]

I have had pigeon issues both on my own installation and that of my aunt's. I got a local lad to fit mine retrospectively for a good price, but my aunt went for a national outfit at £540 (16 panels in a 2 x 8 arrangement). Both our arrays stand well proud of the roof tiles, but I have seen arrays fitted much lower, in which case I don't think pigeons could access them. Perhaps see what bracket arrangement yours will have? BTW, my aunt has a bungalow, and this year is the first time in 7 years she's had pigeons under the panels. I was told she wouldn't get pigeons on a bungalow, because cats can get up there. That's blown that theory away!

might have been cheaper to get a cat!

 

[ACarneiro]

might have been cheaper to get a cat!

The pidgeons might beg to differ

 

[spon88]

Cheers folks. I'm leaning towards it the more I hear. We have to have slightly raised panels to accommodate a couple of low level vent tiles, so there would be space for nests etc. Don't get me started on squirrels! We had a couple in the loft space which made a right mess and destroyed two expensive CCTV cameras! Got rid of them humanely with peppermint laced pads which apparently they hate. Looks like another grand or so on the solar project, but cheaper now than later and/or if damage results.

 

[up_north]

For us - definitely - £250 for a 10 panel system is a no brainer.

 

[PITA]

Pigeons...

Feral Pigeons / Rock Pigeons are hole seekers. They love to nest in holes and under your Solar Panels.

They're very territorial and will return repeatedly to poo, shag, nest and die in your new Solar Panel hotel.

They are identified by Purple Green shiny necks... if you see these flying around your house, then install Critter Mesh Grids around your Solar Array... to stop them getting under the panels.

Getting these mesh panels will save you a lot of agro in the future if installed correctly.

If you don't have these Pigeons in your neighbourhood, don't get conned into fitting them... they're not needed. A quick way to reassure yourself, is walk around your neighbourhood at other people arrays, are they clean and clear underneath the rack mountings. If they are, you're good to go.

If they're covered in poo, with dead Pigeons blocking the daylight underneath... get mesh system

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Now... not all Pigeons are the enemy. So careful here not to waste your money on advanced defence systems if you don't need them.

Wood Pigeons (identified with white necks) are friendly. They don't like holes... they nest, feed, shag, and die in trees and bushes.

Like our house, they'll sit on your roof, walk about, coo' a lot... but never go under the panels. Always behave themselves so leave them to it.

... and save hundreds of quid in the process.

 

[Liquidv]

if you don't like the look of them get solar skirts, better looking but more expensive

SolaSkirt (@solaskirt) • Instagram photos and videos

437 followers, 116 following, 144 posts – see Instagram photos and videos from SolaSkirt (@solaskirt)

www.instagram.com

 

[spon88]

Pigeons...

Feral Pigeons / Rock Pigeons are hole seekers. They love to nest in holes and under your Solar Panels.

They're very territorial and will return repeatedly to poo, shag, nest and die in your new Solar Panel hotel.

They are identified by Purple Green shiny necks... if you see these flying around your house, then install Critter Mesh Grids around your Solar Array... to stop them getting under the panels.

Getting these mesh panels will save you a lot of agro in the future if installed correctly.

If you don't have these Pigeons in your neighbourhood, don't get conned into fitting them... they're not needed. A quick way to reassure yourself, is walk around your neighbourhood at other people arrays, are they clean and clear underneath the rack mountings. If they are, you're good to go.

If they're covered in poo, with dead Pigeons blocking the daylight underneath... get mesh system

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Now... not all Pigeons are the enemy. So careful here not to waste your money on advanced defence systems if you don't need them.

Wood Pigeons (identified with white necks) are friendly. They don't like holes... they nest, feed, shag, and die in trees and bushes.

Like our house, they'll sit on your roof, walk about, coo' a lot... but never go under the panels. Always behave themselves so leave them to it.

... and save hundreds of quid in the process.

Definitely got the feral type here! Protection it is. I may be able to get a cheaper job done by a roofer we use - buy the kit and get him to do it. Looking at videos online it looks relatively straightforward. The solar installers start at £950 + vat so I reckon I'll be in for at least double that. My roofing guy would be half the price if he'll do it.

 

[PITA]

if you don't like the look of them get solar skirts, better looking but more expensive

SolaSkirt (@solaskirt) • Instagram photos and videos

437 followers, 116 following, 144 posts – see Instagram photos and videos from SolaSkirt (@solaskirt)

www.instagram.com

Problem with these skirts, is they don't allow airflow underneath.

Airflow is needed to keep Power Optimizer or Micro Inverters cool.

Mesh guards allow airflow underneath

 

[spon88]

if you don't like the look of them get solar skirts, better looking but more expensive

SolaSkirt (@solaskirt) • Instagram photos and videos

437 followers, 116 following, 144 posts – see Instagram photos and videos from SolaSkirt (@solaskirt)

www.instagram.com

Thanks, saw those but prefer the black steel mesh type. You can hardly see it on one of the neighbour's installs.

 

[PITA]

Definitely got the feral type here! Protection it is. I may be able to get a cheaper job done by a roofer we use - buy the kit and get him to do it. Looking at videos online it looks relatively straightforward. The solar installers start at £950 + vat so I reckon I'll be in for at least double that. My roofing guy would be half the price if he'll do it.

The main thing here... and it's extremely important, is that attention to detail is maintained.

If these birds get in... it's likely they can't get back out... and they're very very persistent.

So the mesh needs to be firmly secured with no gaps on corners and angles.

 

[SK6 steve]

Hi
I have just had a system installed and used an “in roof” system that recesses the panels. Leaving no gaps.
looks much nicer.

GSE IN-ROOF SYSTEM - GSE Intégration - photovoltaic panels

GSE IN-ROOF SYSTEM is the most universal fastening system for roof-integrated photovoltaic panels in new and renovated houses

www.gseintegration.com

 

[PITA]

Hi
I have just had a system installed and used an “in roof” system that recesses the panels. Leaving no gaps.
looks much nicer.

GSE IN-ROOF SYSTEM - GSE Intégration - photovoltaic panels

GSE IN-ROOF SYSTEM is the most universal fastening system for roof-integrated photovoltaic panels in new and renovated houses

www.gseintegration.com

Does look nice, but I would have some serious concerns.

Their interlocking system is waterproof, but only guaranteed for 10 years.

So what happens if a solar panels fails... and is no longer available for replacement. The whole system is designed for exact measurements. So it's almost proprietary. If the dead panel can't be easily replaced, do you just leave it as a dead duck?

Secondly, having roof tiles, with a rack system, allows your Solar Panels to act like a Thermal Barrier. Stopping the Sun's direct heat onto the tiles underneath, with an air gap between for cooling.

If those Panels ARE the roof... the loft space is not now protected from Solar heat.

It looks nice... though

 

[Drew57]

It's not cheap but I guess better to do it during the install rather than later. What is your experience with/without bird protection on your PV arrays please? I'm looking at a grand or so to add it I think, so not trivial.

Robin bast#*ds

 

[Cardo]

Definitely get bird proofing during installation. We didn’t and had no issues for a couple of years, but then one pair of pigeons started trying to nest. I spent the season removing their attempts at building a nest. The next season a bunch of pairs turned up with the same idea, and one pair managed to build a nest where I couldn’t reach it. Fortunately, it was precarious and the wind/rain wiped it out. Cost us around £1k to fit bird proofing as we had to get scaffolding put up due to the nature of the roof.

And get decent bird proofing, not just some flimsy mesh, as they can sometimes break through, and then you have a real issue. There’s a house nearby where the mesh hasn’t held and it’s a full on pigeon hotel. The mesh has actually provided them more protection, making it even more appealing. We’ve got galvanised steel mesh, which even I’d struggle to get through!