*** Brimstone Energy UK fit bird blocker as standard ***

This customer had solar panels installed by British Gas in 2014. Because they didn’t have bird blocker for solar panels fitted, a serious situation has developed and Brimstone Energy UK were been called into remedy the situation.

Back in 2014, the standard fixing platforms created a sizable gap between the roof and the solar panels themselves. This gap can be big enough to allow pigeons to roost and nest.

To be clear, the pigeons don’t seem to be affecting the solar generation itself, but they have created a health hazard. The pigeon droppings have blocked the gutter, so whenever it rains a pigeon poo concoction is spilling over into this customer’s side passage, making it both damp and very smelly. Not a great situation.

This particular problem could have largely been avoided by bird protection.

Unfortunately there are other design problems with this installation. As you can see in this photo, taken mid-afternoon in early August, the solar panels are receiving significant shading from the chimney stack. By installing this array within a gulley, it will likely never see direct sunlight between Sept – March, thus severely limiting its output. And as you can see, even in summer, it only operates fully between about midday and 1500 hrs.

In terms of general cleaning, you can see that these panels have not been cleaned in 10 years. Overall, they are not too dirty, but you can see a general build up of algae on the right hand side and some pigeon droppings on the top left hand side, which will be affecting generation output. So again, whilst the panels don’t require any maintenance, they will benefit from an occasional clean. So we would always advise only mounting them in locations which can be accessed relatively easily (ie. without the need for scaffolding).

Does your installer charge extra for bird blocker for Solar Panels?

If your quote charges extra for bird protection, treat this as a RED flag.

Bird protection isn’t expensive. Any installer charging extra for bird protection doesn’t have your best interests at heart.

*** Brimstone Energy UK fit bird blocker as standard ***

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