Tree Trimming Options When Your Trees Grow Up and Block Your Solar Panels

If your trees have gotten bigger and are now blocking your home's solar panels, it's time to talk to a tree care service about your options. The best choice is probably to trim the branches back, but in certain cases, you might need to remove a tree.

Since you probably want to avoid killing a tree when possible, consider trimming now and also think about what the future may hold as the tree grows. A tree care service may be able to advise you on the best way to deal with your problem. Here are some options.

Trim Back Branches That Block the Sun

A tree care service can trim back branches that interfere with sunshine reaching your solar panels. However, they have to be careful not to cut back too many branches at once, so cutting the main offenders first might be the best idea. The tree trimming company also wants to think about how your trees will look after they're trimmed. Cutting off all the branches in one place makes your tree look lopsided. Plus, you don't want your tree to be unstable.

Explain your problem to the tree trimming company so they can plan out the best way to get more sun on your roof without harming the trees if at all possible.

Develop a Multi-Year Plan for Tree Trimming

You'll probably want branches trimmed on an emergency basis so that sunlight will reach your solar panels right away. The tree trimmers might do that and then come up with a plan to trim the trees to even out their appearance and prevent future problems with the branches.

Since only so much of the tree can be cut off at once, they may start the plan during the next dormant season and then trim every dormant season after that as long as it's needed.

Remove One or More Trees

If the tree trimming company thinks branches are going to be an ongoing problem now that the trees are approaching maturity, they might recommend cutting down the trees. When the trees are gone, you can plant new trees that don't grow high enough to block your solar panels. The tree trimming service might also remove trees and plant new ones in addition to trimming back branches.

If tree branches are a problem and you don't want to get rid of healthy mature trees, talk to your solar power company about moving your panels if there is enough room on your roof. Repositioning the panels or even moving them to the ground might be an option to consider when trees grow up to pose a problem with too much shade.

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