Fighting Fires With Solar Panels

Paul mcallister a firefighter in rhode island told a local television station that firefighters often attempt to fight fires from outside the building rather than enter the house if there are solar panels on the roof.

Fighting fires with solar panels.

Panels take up needed space on the roof. One of the big misconceptions about solar panels is that they produce electricity nonstop and thus are a major hazard for fire departments dispatched to fight home fires. Today s solar panels tend to be very strong. 1 2 courtesy of u s.

Since solar panels are everywhere from home roofs to roadside signs to supermarkets firefighter training is intended to deal with all the challenges that may arrive when fighting fire with solar products involved. Firefighting is intrinsically dangerous and battling a blaze in a building equipped with solar panels only adds to the list of perils firefighters have to confront. Today in the united states demand for solar is at an all time high and the fire service must become educated and trained on the. Dc arc faults are quite simply electrical energy flowing through an air gap which in turn creates an electrical arc.

Unless alternative environmental factors are at play solar panel fires are caused by one thing dc arc faults. The national electric code which is adopted in all 50 states mandates the automatic shutdown of solar inverter. Solar plays an important role offering an alternative infrastructure of energy generation and distribution that will protect vulnerable communities from different threats of fire and disaster. Lots of pipes and a few thin wires photo 9 indicate a solar hot.

The good news is fire departments and homeowners have nothing to worry about in this regard. Most are designed to withstand large hailstones and high winds. After all solar panels don t have tail pipes. Only solar electric systems pose significant firefighter hazards but note that solar shingles may be hard to spot photo 8.