Stuphedd Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 The chap next door is a modern "green guy " drives a Lexus Hybrid and is mainly vegitarian so as to safe guard the planet for his kids . all very meritoriuos ! He covered his roof with solar panels , and has enjoyed the benefits for I guess 4 years or so . He began suspecting that his power output from the panels was dropping off , he tried to contact the installer only to find they have gone to the wall , Therefore he sort an expert in the field who quickly found the problem , Squirrels !! They are living underneath the panels and have "eaten" some of the wiring ,. The repair costs are horrendous , first you need scaffolding ,thats not cheap and then the "repairs" .He recons it will take 3 years until the system begins to be back in the black again . So buyer beware , make sure you dont live where there are squirrels !! Stay Happy cheers 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 I do wish you hadn’t told us that! We have solar panels and we have squirrels too. However the panels have been there for over eight years and there is no discernible drop on output so the squirrels seem not to be attracted to them. However, we did recently cut back a tree in which I suspect they nest so I’m hoping they haven’t read this or they may get ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 We've paid for our solar panels after 8 years from the Feed In Tariff (FIT), what we get paid for what is assumed we feed back into the grid and what we save when using electricity during daylight hours. It means any battery charging done during the day for either our bikes or my models, is free! In any case with interest rates on savings so low it's a reasonable investment. Fortunately we don't have squirrels and if we did I think we would have noticed because the roof is quite low ? Very pleased with them so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuphedd Posted March 9, 2021 Author Share Posted March 9, 2021 also beware of feral pigeons nesting underneath them !! Thats another problem a mate of mine has had ! And locals dont like the use of air rifles . I gather there is a development to make the panels double up as roof tiles and that should cure these problems ! cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 In our case I wouldn't have thought there was sufficient space between the panels and the roof for a pigeon to get underneath. We often get a pair of collared doves in the garden sweeping up the seeds the sparrows throw out of the feeder but wood pigeons are rare. There's quite a few homing pigeons but that doesn't seem as popular as it once was now there are hardly any former miners still alive. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Smith 14 Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 Bad installation if squirrels or pigeons are under the panels, they should have fitted vermin guards all the way round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
СrampTonan Posted October 24, 2024 Share Posted October 24, 2024 It’s great that he’s so dedicated to being green and has enjoyed the benefits for a while. But squirrels messing with the wiring? That’s a wild twist. I had a friend who faced a similar issue with critters in his garden, and he ended up building a little fence to keep them out. It worked wonders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted October 24, 2024 Share Posted October 24, 2024 I put one of these up, it works wonders, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Green Posted October 24, 2024 Share Posted October 24, 2024 I've been pondering going solar but to minimise costs, do it a room at a time using campervan-style components, so each room would have its own panel, a controller, leisure battery and 12v lighting and an inverter for low power mains stuff. The kilowatt stuff would have to remain on the mains grid but those are mostly short runs, and lights & TV are on all evening. As an experiment I thought I'd start with my shed, bought two used 250w panels, a Victron controller the same as the one in my van, and a 110Ah leisure battery. All good. ...but... That was months ago and I still havent done a thing with them. Ah well, best intentions and all that... 😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatMc Posted October 24, 2024 Share Posted October 24, 2024 On 09/03/2021 at 20:53, Stuphedd said: also beware of feral pigeons nesting underneath them !! Thats another problem a mate of mine has had ! And locals dont like the use of air rifles . Get a shotgun ! 🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted October 24, 2024 Share Posted October 24, 2024 Nay nay, pigeon and peas is a fine haute cuisine dish, any casserole, or 3 breasts a person is the basis of pies fit for Gods. Curry, stews, casseroles or even a stir fry does for grey Squirrels. Be aware, while flesh is very good (rich rabbit), squirrel is small and has a full mammalian skeleton. The official dispatch tool is a .410, loaded with rice, the fat arboretto is good. No holes in the meat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
СrampTonan Posted October 31, 2024 Share Posted October 31, 2024 (edited) On 24/10/2024 at 11:13, СrampTonan said: It’s great that he’s so dedicated to being green and has enjoyed the benefits for a while. But squirrels messing with the wiring? That’s a wild twist. I had a friend who faced a similar issue with critters in his garden, and he ended up building a little fence to keep them out. It worked wonders. This is a reply to an old post, but it’s a good reminder for anyone thinking about solar panels. I’ve been considering them myself, and it's amazing how something as small as a squirrel can cause such headaches. Maybe a good preventive measure would be to put some kind of barrier up before installing the panels. Edited October 31, 2024 by Martin Harris - Moderator Unnecessary commercial link removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted October 31, 2024 Share Posted October 31, 2024 On 24/10/2024 at 14:22, PatMc said: Get a shotgun ! 🤣 A pellet or two through a panel often offends 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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