When a solar panel gets cracked, damaged by hail, or reaches its end of its useful life, the most important question is how do you safely remove and replace the panel without damaging the surrounding equipment or putting the workers at risk? This is where a solar panel lifting bag comes in handy, but it is astonishing how few people know about this outside the renewables maintenance sector.
The equipment is becoming more relevant as solar panels continue getting older and require more maintenance. The first wave of large-scale solar farms is well over a decade old, and maintenance teams understand now more than ever that the correct equipment is what separates a straightforward job from something that could potentially be expensive.
What Makes Them Different
A lifting bag does seem to be an unnecessarily specific piece of kit. However, with solar panels, there are unique challenges. They are fragile and hard to manoeuvre, and they are lightweight enough to be carried by the wind, but they are rigid enough to shatter if the right pressure is not applied. The traditional ways of lifting panels are by multiple workers, and this comes with many risks.
Specialised lifting bags lift panels from their mounting system by gently sliding under the panel, inflating with compressed, and lifting the panel with controlled ease. Because the lifting bags inflate with distributed pressure, the panel lifts steadily and without point pressure. This control minimises the chance of micro-cracks forming during removal, which, for many, is a harder matter to address. Hairline fractures are more Deceptive than they are dangerous, and often, completely undermine the performance of a panel, leading it to systemic failure months down the line.
When Seconds Matter
Solar farm operators deal with perilously thin margins. Labour costs increase with each worker required on-site, and every hour spent with a broken panel in place represents generation capacity lost. This is exactly the kind of problem from which lifting bags can save the day. With the right gear, a two-person team can remove and replace panels at a much quicker rate compared to the standard method. This is even more evident during large maintenance cycles or emergency repairs caused by a storm.
Lifting bags are also useful for closing weather edges. When maintenance teams are under the pressure of time to complete the work in a limited period, equipment that enhances the time performance without compromising the safety standard, which improves the operational value, becomes useful.
Real World Applications
Not every lifting bag is appropriate for every situation. Arrays mounted at steep angles are handled differently than shallow-pitch installations. Access to ground-mounted systems is different from access to systems on rooftops. Spacing between panels, the type of mounting hardware, and even the design of the panel frame all plays a role in the effectiveness of the approaches.
These managers also must think about the issue of portability. Solar farms extend over large areas and access vehicles is limited between rows. Equipment which takes a long time to set up or must be carried on a heavy lift vehicle may be less reasonable than compact equipment, even if it has a higher lifting capacity.
These tools also must be durable. Lifting bags will be exposed to UV radiation, extreme temperatures, and abrasive dust. A lifting bag which fails mid-job does not only delay the process, but it also puts the workers in a bad situation exposed with partially removed panels.
Prospects
With the growth of the solar industry, practices relating to maintenance are becoming more advanced. Operations of solar farms are beginning to take into consideration all costs, not just the cost of setting it up. Equipment which helps handle the panels with more care to extend the maintenance period will be more cost-effective.
Training also should be mention. The best lifting equipment proves useless if the workers do not understand how to deploy it. Maintenance teams benefit from tactile experience with their tools before being subjected to time-pressured repair situations. Some operators have even begun incorporating lifting bag training as part of their standard induction processes.