Title: The Benefits and Risks of Solar (PV) Rooftop Systems
The UK’s solar capacity is steadily growing, reflecting a strong shift towards renewable energy. By March 2024, the capacity reached 15.8 GW, a notable increase from 15.2 GW in June 2023. This surge in solar power adoption has led to 1,257,023 domestic homes and 197,409 commercial buildings in the UK being equipped with photovoltaic (PV), or solar panels, as stated by RiskStop*.
While solar energy offers substantial environmental benefits and cost savings, it also introduces property and liability risks. This blog delves into the hazards, maintenance challenges, and liabilities associated with PV panels.
Benefits of installing solar panels
There are a number of benefits to installing solar panels and harnessing solar power for commercial and domestic properties alike.
- A reduction in your electricity bills – the more solar power you generate from your panels, the less you will need to utilise from your provider, in turn, cutting your electricity bills.
- A reduction in your or your business’s carbon footprint – this can help to reduce the impact you or your business is having on the environment by sourcing some of your energy in a more environmentally friendly way
- Receiving payments for generated energy – you can receive payment for the energy created by your solar panels that is surplus to your own energy needs and storage. This can be done using the Smart Export Guarantee.
Risk assessment of PV panels
Even though a large number of UK homes and commercial properties run on electricity derived from solar panels, there is not enough legislation to govern their usage. Therefore, the responsibility for assessing solar panel safety and preventing associated legal and financial complications lies with the property owners (and their insurers).
Should you be considering installing or have already installed solar panels at your property, we urge you to review the following, given the number of fires that are occurring and being claimed for in relation to solar panels, to keep not only you but also your property safe.
- Construction
Before proceeding with the installation of roof-mounted PV panels, it’s important to consider the age of the roof. Most roofs have an average lifespan of 15-20 years, after which their load-bearing capacity reduces. Any PV panels installed after this time period may be too heavy for the roof to hold and could cause it to collapse.
Additionally, the type of roofing material, such as thatch, needs careful consideration due to its high flammability. Many property owners assume their roofs are fire-proofed when they are certified by the Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB), but this certification may not account for the installation of PV panels. As a result, the roof may not be adequately protected against fire risk.
Roof lights also often contain polycarbonate materials, which are highly combustible and can accelerate the spread of fire. Therefore, it’s essential to maintain a sufficient distance between these lights and any PV panels to mitigate fire hazards. Additionally, safe and easy access to the roof must be available at all times to allow maintenance works to run smoothly.
Furthermore, ensuring the presence of adequate smoke vents in the roof is crucial to prevent the rapid spread of fire in case of an emergency. These considerations and measures collectively contribute to maintaining safety and preventing potential risks associated with installing PV panels on various types of roofs.
- Installation
Depending upon the roof type, PV panels must be anchored to the surface or ballasted with sufficient weight securely, such that they remain stable even in adverse weather conditions like high winds or heavy snow. If anchored on penetrative mounts, each penetration must be securely fire-proofed to avoid the fire from spreading to the rest of the building.
It is also important that solar panels are installed by experienced and appropriately accredited installers. Using a reputable installer, such as one registered with an accreditation scheme like MCS Certified, can help reduce the risk of poor workmanship, which is one of the common causes of solar panel related issues.
The quality of the components used within the system should also be carefully considered. Poor quality or defective components may deteriorate more quickly and increase the likelihood of faults developing over time.
Once installed, PV panels are constantly ‘live’, which means that they are incessantly generating electricity. This may be hazardous in the case of a fire, as firefighters need to ensure the electricity supply is safely turned off before they can proceed. This can be achieved by having an isolated remote switch, or by integrating the switch within the fire alarm system, such that the solar panels get isolated as soon as the alarm goes off.
Solar panel fires can occur for a number of reasons, including hot spots developing within the system, compromised wiring, exposed electrical connections, faulty fuses and defective or damaged components. These issues can lead to overheating, electrical faults and potentially more significant losses if not identified and addressed.
Additionally, wires to the PV panels must not run through high-risk rooms, such as those containing boilers, inverters and inflammable items, and solar panel arrays must be at a distance of at least one metre from smoke vents to avoid the spread of fire.
Where properties are located in areas exposed to lightning storms, property owners may also wish to consider whether additional protection measures, such as lightning protection systems, are appropriate. Similarly, measures to prevent damage from birds may help protect cables and other components from deterioration.
- Maintenance
Even though installers and designers often claim PV systems to be maintenance free, regular maintenance is the best way to prevent any accidents and is really the only aspect which the property owner is in full control of.
Even though installers are expected to provide the property owner with an operations and maintenance manual to ensure awareness of periodic checks, this isn’t always the case. In such situations, Solar Energy UK provides an ‘Industry Best Practice Manual’ which can assist, and clearly states that maintenance and checks of PV systems must be carried out at a maximum of 12-month intervals and can be done as frequently as every quarter for high capacity systems.
Moreover, extreme weather conditions such as snow and rain add more physical load to the PV panels, potentially making them unstable. In winter, ice may form on the panels and around the wires, causing breakage and damage, whereas hailstorms have the potential to crack the glass on the panels. Fire risks, though, are the highest during heatwaves as they can cause overheating of the systems. Therefore, it is essential to carry out maintenance during and after extreme weather events.
As part of regular maintenance checks, property owners should ensure that components showing signs of wear and tear are replaced, electrical connections remain adequately insulated, and any damage to panels, cabling or mounting systems is identified and addressed promptly. Issues such as damaged wiring or movement within solar panel arrays can increase the likelihood of faults developing and should not be overlooked.
An example of the consequences of inadequate maintenance can be seen in the fire that took over the Bow Business Centre in London in 2023. In a top-view image of the building taken by Google, it could be seen that the solar panel strings were not in a straight line, which indicated that they had moved. Movements in the solar panel strings can cause disturbance in their wiring and, as a result, put strain on them, increasing the probability of a fire. This accident could have been easily prevented if proper maintenance had been carried out and these issues had been promptly identified and fixed.
As a result, it is essential to confirm details of your installation, risk management strategies that are in place (such as regular maintenance), and any additional information around construction, positioning and the like to your insurer to ensure you have provided them with a comprehensive understanding of the risk. This understanding enables them to offer sufficient cover and set appropriate premiums.
If you are considering installing solar panels, it is advisable to speak to your insurer or insurance broker before work begins. This allows any potential changes to your property insurance arrangements to be identified in advance and ensures you understand any requirements relating to the installation before it takes place.
Netherlands warehouse fire case study
On 20th May 2022, a solar-powered warehouse in Tytsjerksteradiel, Netherlands caught fire, not only damaging the building itself, but also affecting several kilometres of area around it. The fire started due to the PV system getting overheated due to a heatwave that had struck the country.
In a video of the accident, it was seen that the fire had consumed the entire roof. Thick black smoke was seen coming out of the fire, which clearly indicated the presence of plastic and combustible materials, which may have acted as a catalyst in the spread of the fire.
In an unexpected turn of events, large sharp fragments of the solar panels started breaking and ejecting from the building and falling across the area surrounding the property. This exposed the warehouse owners to several liability risks as the fragments had the potential to hurt individuals residing nearby. The shards could also have harmed or been consumed by the livestock on the nearby farms, causing injury or even death and resulting in a huge financial loss for the farmers. This put the warehouse owners at additional risk of farmers potentially pursuing legal action or demanding compensation.
This case study encompasses the liability risks exposed by PV systems and emphasises the need for proper risk management, as well as adequate insurance of PV systems to avoid getting stuck in financial or legal complications should something go wrong.
How We Can Help
If you own a property installed with Solar PV systems and are seeking insurance cover, or are considering an installation, and would like a complimentary review of your property’s insurance, you can contact our Commercial Team on 01653 609151 or at commercial@mcclarroninsurance.com. Equally, please feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss insurance for PV systems in more depth or would just like some general insurance advice.
* ‘Understanding the risks of Solar Panel (PV) Rooftop Systems’ webinar hosted by the RiskStop Group in June 2024.
