Environmental factors such as extreme heat, hailstorms, lightning strikes, or nearby fires can also increase the risk of solar panel fires. While these factors are beyond our control, regular maintenance and inspections can help identify any damage or issues caused by environmental conditions. How to Prevent Solar Panel Fires?
Our engineers and inspectors have inspected over 10,000 grid-connected solar PV systems in the past ten years. During this time, we have concluded that there are three main causes of fires: DC isolators, especially the DC isolators located at the roof (rooftop isolators), are a known common cause of fires in PV systems.
Half of the cases were caused by PV panel systems, and the other half were started from an external source. It is reported that approximately a third of the fires caused by the PV panel systems were due to PV component defects. The rest of the cases were equally caused by planning errors and installation errors (Sepanski et al., 2018).
Seven of 240 stores in which solar panels were installed on roofs caught fire. Resulting in multiply fires across the US Systematic negligence in operating, installing and maintaining the solar system by the producer company Ichihara, Japan2019 (NEWS)
When a solar panel fire occurs, it can present challenges for firefighters. First, solar panels continue to generate electricity even during a fire, making it essential for firefighters to exercise caution.
In fact, PV plant installed on a roof or a façade could fail and cause a fire and/or promote or facilitate its spread. Accident analyses have shown that PV systems are often installed without due consideration of fire propagation and fire spread caused by the presence of modules, cables and electrical boards on the roof.