How to protect your solar panels from birds
How to protect your solar panels from birds
Although bird protection measures are usually thought of as a way to prevent pests birds nesting in or around your solar panel system, they’re also great ways to protect your investments so that you don’t lose them to predators like squirrels or coyotes.
By limiting access to food and shelter, wildlife services often work to keep animals away from human facilities. By providing cover over your solar panels, you create a barrier that prevents hungry or stranded animals from coming near them. A typical example is small frogs, which can grow up to 3 inches (7.6 cm) long and eat smaller insects such as termites or gnat eggs. Covering your solar panels with net fencing provides an inexpensive way to protect your solar panel investment.
When looking through all the available options, choose a second-story fence for better safety. The added height helps scare other birds even more.
How to protect Solar Panels from Bird Droppings
Bird droppings can cause serious health problems and are a nuisance. The danger is that the droppings of pigeons can carry more than 60 dangerous diseases. Some pathogens could even prove fatal. The accumulation of droppings is a serious health risk.
A study done by an agency that inspects solar panels has shown that periodic inspection is crucial to protect your panels from damage or loss due to unpredictable climatic conditions. Bird droppings from the sky can also cause damage to the panels. Some birds’ droppings can cause corrosion and structural damage to solar panels. It is therefore recommended that you get a bird guard for your solar panels.
The heating, cooling, and ventilation systems in buildings are affected by bird fecal matter.
Many birds consider the top ridge of the solar panels a great perching spot. This results in droppings all over the panel which blocks sunlight.
Below is a list with other ways to protect your solar panels against birds.
- Cleaning Solar Panels – Solar panels can be difficult to clean due to the hot climate in the US. Without rainfall or human intervention, dirt and debris can build up quickly. Birds are known to nest in residential solar panels and collect nesting material and droppings. This is why it’s a problem. The accumulation of dirt and bird material over time will make solar panels less efficient, resulting in a drop in solar panel energy. To protect your solar panels against birds, it is important to clean them at least once per year. There are two options: either hire a professional to clean your solar panels or you can do it yourself. This could prove dangerous without proper safety equipment. We strongly recommend that you contact Nevada Solar Group.
- Fake Birds of Prey- This is a less common way to protect residential solar panels from bird damage. This is a great way to scare birds. It’s also humane and economical. This bird deterrent is low-cost and can be used to stop birds nesting under solar panels. This protection method should not be used if birds are already nesting under your solar panels. Fake birds of prey won’t work if there are birds already present. Fake birds are plastic predators that are simple to set up and do not require electricity or batteries. Although it may work for deterring a few pigeons’ nests, you can use spikes or mesh to make your technique more effective.
- Mesh – One way to protect solar panels is to place mesh around the panels. Because the mesh will block birds from entering the area, this method prevents them. This innovative solution is designed to prevent birds from accessing your residential solar panels. It also protects your investment. This is a simple method that can be easily removed for cleaning or maintenance.
- Spikes – A relatively new product that protects your residential solar panels from birds, roof spikes are an humane way to do so. They do not cause pain to birds, but instead act as a barrier to keep pigeons from getting into the area. Bird spikes are a high-quality way to stop birds. The base is designed to withstand extreme temperatures and wind speeds. No matter where you live, spikes are the best choice. Nevada Solar Group Services recommends investing in spikes made of high-quality materials that won’t rust or change their color over time. This will allow you to keep your birds happy and enable them to thrive.
- Solar panel servicing – A proactive way to prevent birds is to have your panels serviced regularly. With the right protective equipment, this is an easy task that you can do yourself. To ensure that the job is done safely and effectively, we recommend hiring a professional cleaning crew from Nevada Solar Group. A solar panel installation servicing kit can be purchased that includes biodegradable soap, cleaner and a brush. Mix the soap in a bucket of warm water. You will then need to wipe down the solar panels by gently rubbing it with water. We recommend that you don’t climb onto the roof. Instead, use a long pole to clean them. This allows you to remain on the ground and is safe for your health and safety. You can use a hosepipe to clean any dirt buildup. This will make it easier to maintain your solar panel maintenance schedule. It is important to remember that you should not use any harsh materials for cleaning your residential panels. You could endanger your investment by using rough materials. In the long-term, they could be damaged and may need to be repaired.
Bird Proofing Solar Panels
There are many methods for bird proofing solar panels. Many traditional methods use netting or mesh as a physical barrier. Although anti bird spikes are often used, birds will still find a way around them if they aren’t properly installed and maintained.
Important to remember that all species are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1986. Intentionally injuring or killing a gull, or causing damage to an active nest or its contents, is illegal. It is illegal in Scotland and Northern Ireland to stop birds from accessing their nests, and it is illegal to disturb nesting birds.
How to protect your home from solar panels damaged wiring
When it comes time to install solar panels, you’ll need to make sure they’re safe for birds. Otherwise, they can become bird prey or suffer injury from other wildlife.
There are two types of solar panel protection methods that can be used when installing solar panels:
Protect your investment
When you invest time or money in a solar panel system, you want to make sure that you protect solar panels against birds.
Birds can be very destructive to solar panels. In some cases, birds actually dig into the ground near the panel seeking out other creatures. By putting up bird netting, they are kept away from the grid and the utility line at the bottom of the panel, which contains electricity.
Bird netting also works well when you have a larger group of people working around the solar array with different tasks. It creates an area where they don’t need to worry about coming into contact with each other or getting stuck in traffic somewhere.
It also helps prevent conflicts between them. But, just because you have more people doesn’t mean you have less control over what they do. With increased personnel comes decreased productivity.
Netting solves the problem of keeping birds away but does not solve the issue of keeping animals away. For this reason, many recommend combining bird netting with animal deterrents such as urine/bird droppings, scent tapes and swatters.
These work to protect solar panels much better than humans but will cost you more money. You can get tape and chemicals at most hunting supply stores.
Cost of bird damage
How to install solar panels bird netting
Depending upon your location, the installation process for solar panel netting can be anywhere from simple to complicated. There are two basic methods you can use to attach the panels to the frame of your net enclosure; you can use bolts or you can use clamps.
The type of panel that will best serve your purposes is determined by several factors, including the kind of fence you’ll need and the extent of damage caused by birds to your existing fencing.
Although most electric fences will have some sort of spot control capability, there are also special functions available for specific applications. These range from providing timed shock settings to keep animals separated, to allowing you to lock out certain areas of your fenced property.
Installation should only take a small amount of time compared to the overall maintenance of the electrical fence. That way, you don’t spend forever installing new panels and then having them come together again to talk about how to put up another group of nets.
These days it is very simple to find affordable LED lights that look similar to incandescent bulbs. You can purchase almost any type of light source as an outdoor light fixture.
Consider keeping the main structure of your yard completely bare so all you have to do during installation is place the netting over the top and securely fasten it in place with clips. This makes cutting back unwanted lines of vegetation much simpler.
Solar Panel Bird Mesh
The solar panel bird mesh is a great way to deter birds from nesting on your solar panels. The mesh is made of durable, UV-resistant polypropylene, and it’s designed to fit snugly around your solar panels. The mesh is also transparent, so it won’t impede the sunlight from reaching your solar cells. The solar panel bird mesh is easy to install, and it’s a great way to keep your solar panels clean and free of bird droppings.
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