For those who question why to put solar panels in treetops.
For those who question why to put solar panels in treetops.
Here in the rural hinterlands of the pacific northwest we have way more trees than people. These are mostly tall, straight conifers .... douglas fir, hemlock and cedar, 50 to 100 years old, generally.
Many people like to build their homes amidst the second growth forest that has been carved into building lots. A growing number of people are thinking about providing for some of their own electrical energy needs in the future, and the best way to do that is with solar electricity.
For people who want to be independent of the electrical grid and also gasoline powered generators, solar electricity is the best way to go.
Photovoltaic (PV) panels do not work in the shade. They need direct photon impacts from the sun, not diffuse light. Even a small amount of shading on a solar panel can effectively turn it off.
In the wintertime in the northern latitudes the sun can be very low to the horizon. Even if there was no trees to shade the solar collector you would need to tilt the panels up to 60 or more degrees or so to collect the maximum solar power from the wintertime sun angle.
Imagine how big of a clearing you would need to cut to shed direct sunlight on the roof of a cabin amongst a forest of 120' firs and hemlocks.
But we want to live amongst the trees. So, to provide solar electricity (PV power) to a site that is in the shade of a forest, you need to mount the solar panels up in the sun. near the top of tall trees, above the canopy.
Anyone who has ever climbed above the canopy knows, thats where the energy is. Thats why the trees grow so tall and straight, it's a race to the sun.
Think of it as biomimicry, designing along the lines of nature... We are just expanding the tree's role as an energy conversion device.