Protect Your Solar Panels from Rodent Damage

Warren:
Squirrels and other pesky critters can pose a major threat to your solar panel system. In this video, we'll explain how to safeguard your system against these troublesome pests to prevent costly damage.
So Chad, have you ever seen squirrels or other rodents impact a solar array?

Chad:
I have, Warren. It happens quite frequently.

Warren:
Okay.

Chad:
Probably the story that comes to mind is we had a customer in Pennsylvania who heard something in their attic, and they knew it was squirrels. They saw them coming in and coming out, but they didn't know from where. And during that, some troubleshooting on site, we removed a solar panel and there was an actual literal hole chewed through their roof where the squirrels would go in and out of their attic.

Warren:
Wow. So other than chewing through the roof, what other issues do these rodents create?

Chad:
Believe it or not, they create some pretty serious issues. One of the worst things they do is they love to chew on the insulation on your PV wire, and obviously you don't want that insulation damaged. It causes ground faults and other issues that can damage or cause your system not to function and cause electrical hazards. The other issue that we see is they'll actually damage the shingles on your roof. They'll build nests under there and a lot of scratching and scraping, and they'll actually remove shingles and pieces of shingles.

Warren:
If they're causing all of this damage, what type of solutions are available?

Chad:
Yeah. Actually, fortunately, there's a pretty straightforward, easy solution that works very well and is fairly cost-effective. Actually, I have a example of an array here. It's called critter guard. And Warren, this is actual PVC coated wire mesh, so they're not going to chew through it. They're not strong enough to bend by it. So this is installed around the perimeter of the array and around any openings within the array, just very simply with clips that clip onto your module and can be done, a typical house maybe around four hours of time.

Warren:
Okay. And you can install this during the installation or after the fact?

Chad:
You can. Our service technicians will often come back to a site or some other non Paradise Energy Solutions customer and install this as a solution later in time. I would recommend if you know you have squirrels, you have trees close to your home that you consider asking your sales consultant about critter guard right away because it'll be more cost-effective to do it during the initial installation.

Warren:
So if I have a solar array on my roof right now, and I just want to be cautious, I don't want to take a chance, I'd like to get this installed, what is something like this going to cost me?

Chad:
Yeah, so for an average residential house, you'd be looking around $1,800. That seems to be an average number. Some of the things that affect that cost will be how steep is your roof? How far away are you from our technicians? How chopped up or how many roof surfaces is your array on? If it's a nice square array on a low slope roof, that number's going to come down. And if it's more complicated, it may go up.

Warren:
Okay. If you've had an experience where squirrels or other rodents have damaged your system, share your story in the comments below. Damage from these pests can be costly. Our team has installed critter guard on hundreds of systems and we're ready to help protect your investment. Contact us using the link in the description below.