Welcome to Ennovus Solutions
Over the past 10 years there has been considerable growth in the total installed capacity of solar PV in the UK, with the cumulative capacity now exceeding 16 GW. Whilst PV systems are very safe, like every electrical installation, there are still associated risks, with the most discussed typically being fire safety.
The incidences of fires involving solar PV systems is very low; however, as the number of installations across the UK continues to grow, it becomes increasingly important to ensure that systems are correctly designed, installed, and maintained, to keep the total number of fire instances to an absolute minimum.
Fire data collected by the Incident Recording System (IRS) stated that between 2010 and 2022, there were 325 fires which included a reference to solar PV. Based on the cumulative installed capacity, this equates to a fire incident frequency of 0.022 per MW or over 1 in 4,000 installations. It should be noted that these figures may include instances where there were solar panels on site, with the fire originating elsewhere, which could skew the data. As shown, statistically the likelihood of a fire is very low; however, there are measures which can be implemented to further de-risk the system.
The most common causes of fire in solar PV arrays are typically attributed to the DC side of the system, particularly DC isolators and DC connectors. This has been confirmed by many literary sources, including the BRE 2017 report which conducted an independent study on 58 unique incidents, 26 of which were on commercial buildings. There were two key takeaways from the study:
The main fire risks associated with commercial solar PV systems have been identified to occur on the DC side of the system; however, there are key steps which Ennovus Solutions take to further reduce the risk of fire. For each risk, some of the key mitigation strategies are shown below, and once implemented they will lead to a safer solution.
The mitigation strategies which Ennovus Solutions implement into their designs align with the latest ‘RC62: Recommendations for fire safety with PV panel installations’. This is a joint code of practice developed by RISCAuthority, MCS, and Solar Energy UK.
Whilst solar PV systems are inherently low risk they still need to be properly designed, with careful consideration placed on the equipment selection, installed using the correct methods and competent installation teams, and maintained with both active and reactive maintenance packages in order to mitigate any risks as far as reasonable possible.
Whilst the above mitigation strategies reduce or eliminate the risk of fire in commercial solar PV systems, some larger insurance providers require a further level of detail. The next level of detail or requirements may include:
Whilst some of these requirements go above and beyond those laid out in the relevant recommendations and guidelines for commercial solar PV systems, here at Ennovus Solutions we have experience in this area and are actively working with our clients and their insurance providers to deliver a solution which meets the requirements for all parties.
For businesses looking to invest in a commercial solar PV installation, please get in touch with Ennovus Solutions, who will design, implement, and maintain a system with health and safety at its core.
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Ennovus are a leading Net Zero implementation Consultancy based in the UK. Part of Consultus Group, Ennovus Solutions are specialist engineers and experts in delivering Net Zero Solutions.
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