Council trees overshadowing solar panels

kenmc

Has anyone had any success asking council to trim/top trees on council property which cause shadowing issues with solar panels? Am looking to install panels but might be shafted by 2 council trees (DLRCC).

bullit_dodger

Can of petrol + zippo or a wayward "firework" ?! LOL

Jokes aside though, I've the same problem across the road from me in D16. 80ft trees pretty much stop production in the mid afternoon. Don't have my system in long enough to know about what it will effect me in high summer when the angles are different, but I can't see them coming out and chopping off 20-30ft.

Padre_Pio

Probably need to come up with some safety reasons for tall trees.

Either near power lines, risk of falling in a storm, that sort of thing.

kenmc

Ha, D16 here too. I think I'll be ok in high summer, I *think* the shading will be less intrusive due to sun being higher and getting over the top of them. For now....

Might be worth an email though, I'd love to do my bit for global warming etc, but your trees are preventing me from doing so....

CoBo55

What’s DLRCC?

kenmc

Dun laghaoire rathdown county council

maestroamado

If you are seriously thinking of doing i would wait until summer to confirm if there be an effect... bring out a contractor for price and tell this person the reason you cannot proceed is because of sun being blocked... These companies that are registered as a group to carry out Government grant aided work seem to have a bit of clout as there is usually a spokesperson for the group....

maestroamado

kenmc

I think I'd be better off in summer ironically, as the height of the sun in the sky would likely clear them - for now. It's winter when I need to generate as much power as possible that I would likely have worst impact, even from bare branches

E30M3

Might optimisers be the answer, within your control and not depending on any Local Authority intervention.

MAULBROOK

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058226236/council-trees-overshadowing-solar-panels

Richard Boyd Barrett loves a good scrap give him a call.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118427011#Comment_118427011

are they in a public park? 80 foot tall trees owned by the council would be rare as street trees, i'd have guessed.

anyway, there's a certain irony in chopping back trees to provide renewable energy.

kenmc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118428312#Comment_118428312

i need to read up on them to see how/what they can do. I might be able to split an array towards east and west as the trees are more or less directly due south of the house, so morning sun and mid-afternoon sun would be clear of shadowing i think. If it was sunny I could look at checking the shadowing through the day currently.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118427048#Comment_118427048

The full sized tree is doing much more for global warming than sticking some solar panels onto your roof.

MAULBROOK

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118429418#Comment_118429418

Go east west and if the trees come down then add more to the south.

East/West is very effective

bod71

I have the same issue, I got my panels installed sept 2020. I have shading on my panels facing South east and got optimisers fitted on 4 of them. I checked on the South Dublin CC, there’s a section on tree dept and they won’t prune or top tree’s for the like’s of solar panels, satellite reception or Cctv. They will trim them as part of maintenance, and just before Xmas they done the tree’s on our road and they took about 10ft off the top.

kenmc

Do the optimisers help?

MAULBROOK

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118432234#Comment_118432234

In a word, yes

bod71

They do, I have 6 panels on front of house 2 on top and 4 on bottom, I have optimisers on the bottom 4. They maximise output when shading hits them for about an hour in the morning, otherwise you can lose total output.

slave1

I also have council tree shading but only for Nov-Feb when generation is brutal anyhow so financially the Optimisers not worth it so I spent the money on extra panels on rear NE facing part of the house.

If the shading is year around then worth it but if on the poor months of the year then do your numbers as to whether financially worth it.

As an aside I had the council out last year as the trees overhang my garden by 13ft and if they fall will hit my roof and also any car parked in my driveway and they showed no concern. A council tree has previously fallen and totalled a car parked in a driveway in my estate.

yankinlk

Only installed solar in Oct last and I've topped 6 trees, removed one and halved a row of Leylandi hedge. I should have done it years ago but it was solar panels that focused the mind.

kenmc

Response from last week email :we can't top healthy trees but we might be able to prune them in a way which is not detrimental. Send us some pics.

Better than an outright "no", at least for now....

magicbastarder

yeah, topping deciduous trees is a recipe for disaster or just making them look really ugly.

ozmo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118448655#Comment_118448655

Chopping bits of a healthy tree is not going to go well for the tree - you sure you want to have rotting or dying trees outside your house - Im sure your neighbours wouldn't be impressed anyway.

Probably for no reason either - as you probably don't need direct sun on the solar panels - ambient light over the course of a day should be fine.

turbot

What is the point of cutting down large trees so you can install solar panels?

Are you think in terms of CO2 mitigation or some kind of vanity solar project?

Where I used to live, amazing trees were cut down so increase light to apartments - until the whole place felt way more industrial.

Maybe you ought to think this through!

slave1

If trees are of a height they are causing shading on your roof then you have the inevitable fallen tree in a storm to be concerned with, it happens and it will happen again and this includes perfectly healthy trees. Councils should only plant trees with a maximum height near houses.

We can't put vertical wind turbines in our gardens in case they fall onto neighbours property yet council ignore trees that can fall on houses never mind someone in the garden at the time, cars, pets, sheds, huts etc

kenmc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118448826#Comment_118448826

Who mentioned cutting down trees?

kenmc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118448786#Comment_118448786

Pruning or trimming plants does not kill them!

bullit_dodger

True dat - in fact trimming them can help keep them healthy for longer. However, if solar panel shading is the problem.....is it likely to be much of an issue in 3-4 weeks when the sun is higher. Might be more work than it's worth for the few weeks a year that one string is affected?

(I ask not knowing your situation, trees/panels/orienation/etc)

kenmc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118449309#Comment_118449309

I don't know, is the answer. First thing many installers have replied when Google mapping my eircode, is "that tree may be a problem".

Not sure even how to know if it'll be a problem or not without installing and measuring

bullit_dodger

You can probably work it out with a bit of trigonometry before install. Math will always see you right :-)

To be fair Ken, I face a similar problem myself. Trees across the road from me kill production on my west facing array right now at 3:30 or there abouts. Course with sunset at 4:30 at the moment, it's only knocking off an hour or so from the production and at that only on days which are sunny, as production on the days which aren't sunny are rubbish anyway. In summtime with the sun more "overhead" anyway, it should be fine, it'll clear those tree until 6-7pm.

For me an easier way to solve it was to simply put 2x extra panels onto my East facing array. Yeah, I've still got the tree impacting the west ones in the late afternoon at the moment, but I grab the sun when I can earlier now and it goes into the battery anyway.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118449235#Comment_118449235

'topping' a tree - which is what people seem to be talking about here - is considered bad practice, and yes, can kill them.

https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/fnr/fnr-faq-14-w.pdf

capistrano

I asked Dublin City Council about this recently and this was their response…

Trees and Solar Panels

The Council will not prune or fell a Council owned / managed tree to facilitate installation or improve natural light to a solar panel. Whilst the Council appreciates that there is a need to provide renewable energy resources, trees have an important role in maintaining and improving local amenity, in addition to contributing to local and national targets in tackling climate change. The presence of trees must be fully appreciated when considering a suitable location for the placement of solar panels.

Television, broadband, mobile telephone and satellite reception

Tree works will not be carried out to improve reception of the above services where the trees in question would not otherwise require works. Dublin City Council recognises television, broadband, mobile telephone and satellite reception are important to residents. However, a balance has to be found between these services and the local environment. The Council will encourage residents to seek reasonable alternative solutions to improve reception of these services rather than requesting tree pruning or removal.

NedNew2

I have a relative in a County Council outside Dublin and he informed me they will remove up to 1 metre of height for trees under 5 metres tall. You have to make an application and pay a fee. It is reviewed by their environment department so not all tree species or locations will qualify.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122693991#Comment_122693991

a sensible approach - i would have an issue at them chopping away at what is essentially a public resource to suit individuals in that manner.

I had a 80 year old plane tree outside my house blocking light in the 90s in Dublin. Not even Bertie could get it removed.

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122694114#Comment_122694114

He'd have done it himself for cash

Gusser09

Poison them with roundup. Works a treat.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122694046#Comment_122694046

How does that work in the long run though? Certain species of tree will grow a metre a year, so you could need to pay that fee every year.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122694071#Comment_122694071

I'd agree with this view, particularly when trees that have been there for a long time and often predate the current owners of the house

It would be nice to see solar panels installed in more public areas however. For example there's a couple of green areas near me with paths that are often used by people walking to school or work. A covered shelter over some the paths with solar panels on the roof would both be a source of green energy and also encourage more active travel on rainy days

There's also some pitches nearby with a path of land to the side which would be perfect for a couple of ground mounted arrays

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122694463#Comment_122694463

Those were the days 🤣

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.treecouncil.ie/trees-and-the-law

Right to light is a specific and complex legal matter and you should seek independent advice on this.

 

A right to light exists only if the owner of a house can satisfy a court that he or she has enjoyed the uninterrupted use of that light for a period of greater than 20 years before any legal action is brought about.

This, however, only applies to the windows of a property and not to a garden.

There's also a bit more on when you can and can't fell a tree.