Pre-launch · For ground-mount solar

Birds want the high seat. Just not on your panels.

On ground-mount arrays, birds perch on the top corner to scan the field. Their droppings streak right down your cells. PerchOff caps that corner with stainless spikes and gives birds a better perch 200 mm off the edge, so they keep their view and your panels stay clean.

$35 a pair shipped in the US · $40 to Canada

Founding-batch pricing and first access. No payment now, just your email.

0 / 30 signups to greenlight production

PerchOff installed on both top corners of a ground-mount panel, a bird perched on the offset arm, droppings on the ground below — The fix in the field: birds use the offset perch, your glass stays clean.

The problem

The best lookout on your array is the corner of a panel.

A ground-mount panel gives birds exactly what they want, a high, clear vantage over the field. So they perch on the top corner. Then the droppings come, straight down the glass.

A bird perched on the top corner of a ground-mount solar panel, with droppings streaking down the cells below it

Why one bad corner costs more than you'd think

Solar cells are wired in series, like a string of lights, the whole string can only push as much current as its weakest cell. Cover a cell or two in the corner and that cell throttles everything wired to it.

Bypass diodes split a panel into about three sections, so a single shaded corner can take roughly a third of the panel offline, and the soiled cells can heat into hot spots that damage it over time.

Lost output

One shaded corner can knock out a whole section of the panel, far more than the area it covers.

Repeat cleaning

Corner soiling means scrubbing the same panels again and again all season.

Hot spots

Blocked cells run hot under load, which degrades the panel over time.

It comes back

Scare gadgets fade fast, the corner is too good a perch for birds to give up.

How it works

Don't fight the birds. Redirect them.

Birds aren't the problem, the spot is. Take away the corner and hand them a better one, and they'll take it every time. No power, no upkeep, working day and night.

Cap the corner

A row of 10 stainless-steel spikes screws onto the panel's top corner, so birds can't land where the droppings would hit the glass.

Offer a better seat

An offset arm puts a perch 200 mm past the edge, same commanding view, off the panel, so birds choose it over the glass.

Droppings hit the dirt

From the offset perch, everything lands on the ground beyond the panel. Your cells stay clean and your output stays up.

The real thing

A real, printed part, already on panels.

Not a render of a someday product. These are PerchOff units printed and mounted on a working ground-mount array.

Close-up of the PerchOff corner unit mounted on a panel, with stainless spikes on top and the offset perch arm extending out — Spikes up top, offset perch arm out the side.

The PerchOff offset perch arm extending past the panel edge against a cloudy sky — The arm clears the edge, droppings fall past it.

PerchOff mounted on the corner of a live ground-mount solar panel in a yard — Mounted on a working ground-mount panel.

Questions

Fair questions, honest answers.

Wait, you want birds to perch? +

Yes, just not on your panel. Birds are going to land on a ground-mount array no matter what, the top corner is the best lookout for miles. PerchOff moves that perch a few inches off the glass, so the birds keep their view and the droppings miss your cells. Working with the behavior beats fighting it.

Can a couple of soiled cells really matter that much? +

More than you'd expect. Solar cells are wired in series, so the whole string is throttled by its weakest cell, cover one and you choke everything wired to it. Bypass diodes split a panel into about three sections, so a single shaded corner can knock roughly a third of the panel offline. Soiled cells can also heat into hot spots that damage the panel over time.

Why do birds pick the corner of the panel? +

On a ground-mount array, the top corner is the highest clear vantage point over the field, ideal for scanning for insects and prey. It's prime real estate, which is exactly why scare devices don't keep them away for long.

Why not just put spikes everywhere? +

Because you don't need to, it's wasted cost and labor. Birds gravitate to the corners for the high lookout, so that's where droppings pile up on the same cells day after day. The occasional bird that lands mid-array keeps moving, so its mess never concentrates on one spot. Protect the corners and you've covered where the real damage happens.

Is it humane? +

Completely. The spikes deny one spot; the offset perch hands the bird a comfortable alternative with the same view. Nothing harms the bird, you're just changing where it sits.

What's it made of and will it last outside? +

The body is printed solid in UV-stabilized ASA, no weak hollow infill, so it shrugs off sun, heat, and cold without going brittle or yellow like cheaper PLA. The 10 spikes and the screws are stainless steel, so nothing rusts. Built for years on an exposed array.

How does it mount and will it fit my panels? +

It screws down onto the panel frame for a permanent, rock-solid hold, no rattling loose in the wind. It fits any panel and the offset perch sits 200 mm clear of the edge so droppings fall well past the glass.

What's the price and when can I get one? +

PerchOff is sold as a pair (one for each top corner) for $35 shipped in the US, or $40 to Canada. We start the first production run once we hit our signup goal; waitlist members get first access, founding-batch pricing, and the ship date by email before anyone else. No payment is taken now.