Rainer Sedlmaier from Nauheim near Frankfurt am Main, Germany, was concerned that his son’s rooftop PV system could have been damaged by the presence of pigeons, which sometimes can make their nests right under the modules.
Sedlmaier did not observe any issues with pigeons in his own photovoltaic system or that of his neighbors, as the inclination of the roofs was between 35% and 45%. In the case of his son, however, the roof inclination was only 20%, which means pigeons will have no problems nesting there.
To prevent pigeons from reaching the array, Sedlmaier applied rotating brushes with a diameter of 12 cm to the PV system frames and this solution, according to him, make the pigeons reluctant to approach the installation.
He calculated that for an average rooftop PV system, these brushes may cost a total of between €100 and €200 and recommended installing the brushes when a project is being built, as a retrofit may be more complex.
Brooding pigeons under the modules are particularly problematic because they can contaminate the systems with their aggressive droppings. Once they have nested there, they will be happy to come back, as these birds are loyal to their area. And they come back often because they breed several times a year.
