I thought the government had scrapped the scheme
... and the risk of your property burning down is significantly increased.
Emperor's new clothes.
Without subsidy there is little or no payback, they make your house look bloody awful and the risk of your property burning down is significantly increased. I'd steer well clear.
now why would that be? cant see solar panels alone increasing risk of fire, maybe a cock up in wiring to the mains, but similar risk their to say having a new cooker fitted and cocked up.
Was the fire at Hove town hall earlier this year (or late last year) not due to the solar panels overheating?now why would that be? cant see solar panels alone increasing risk of fire, maybe a cock up in wiring to the mains, but similar risk their to say having a new cooker fitted and cocked up.
You're right of course, solar panels in themselves carry a very low fire risk. The vast majority of solar fires are a consequence of installer fault. One of the more common mistakes is installing an AC isolator on DC circuits. This can lead to an extremely significant build up of heat that can eventually melt the isolator switch and trigger a fire.
If the fire service are called to a fire in house with solar panels - even if the fire is nothing to do with the solar panels (ie a chimney fire) - there is a lot more to think about before firefighting operations can commence. And all this takes vital minutes, especially if it is dark.
Ladders can't be set against the roof
A safety officer needs to be appointed to monitor for earlier than usual signs of collapse owing to the additional roof loading
A cordon must be established below panel arrays, meaning you might not be able to fight the fire from the optimal position
Firefighting water can't be directed onto the roof.
Everybody has to faff about swapping normal gloves for electrical-rated gloves
Hazardous chemicals and materials used in panel manufacture can be released as a side-effect of the fire damage so you need additional appliances for extra BA sets.
Cutting through roof space to ventilate or get to the seat of the fire is a no-no given the additional electrical cables running through the joists that can't be isolated with the AC circuits.
By the time this is all squared away the house is probably lost anyway.
Given the the level of risk and uncertainty, once all occupants have been accounted for its not uncommon for orders to be protect surrounding risks (ie neighbouring properties) and let the affected property burn down in a controlled way.
So solar panels may only marginally increase the risk of fire - if at all - but the consequences of a fire caused by whatever means can be far more catastrophic owing to the added complications they present.
Nobody wants to die fighting a fire in an empty house. And no senior officer wants to end up in court explaining how that happened.
Wow. Now that's a truly compelling argument against getting panels installed. Strange that the sales guy I've been talking to hasn't mentioned any of this when we've been debating the relative merits of putting the panels on the roof or as part of an array in the grounds. Thanks.