The hot spot effect and aging of PV panels were found responsible in previous fire accidents can be caused by the dust density around the PV array, the ambient temperature, and the material structure of the PV array. Preventive solutions to the fire accident can be distinguished into solar panel reconfiguration and fire fault detection algorithm.
Request an accessible format. This 3-year study by the BRE (Building Research Establishment) explored fires involving solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. The study includes: The incidence of such fires is very low, but the study makes a number of recommendations to reduce risks.
Preventive solutions to the fire accident can be distinguished into solar panel reconfiguration and fire fault detection algorithm. The advantages of reconfiguration of PV modules include reducing hot spot and improving power efficiency. Meanwhile, the advantage of the fire fault detection algorithm is to detect faulty position accurately.
Hydrogen compounds such as HF and HCL that are toxic are produced during the fire accident of solar panels. In 2009, 1826 PV modules with a generation capacity of 383 kW solar PV arrays were damaged in a fire accident in California, USA .
According to , approximately 51% of the PV related re accidents is related to installation errors or poor quality of PV modules, which further causes cable faults on PV modules. On the contrary, the hot-spot effect is liable for a relatively lower percentage of the solar panel re accidents.
In order to minimize the risks of re accidents in large scale applications of solar panels, this review focuses on the latest techniques for reducing hot spot effects and DC arcs. The risk mitigation solutions mainly focus on two aspects: structure recon guration and faulty diagnosis algorithm.