The UK’s solar capacity continues to grow, reflecting the country’s ongoing transition towards renewable energy. By March 2025, installed solar PV capacity had reached around 18.1 GW, with approximately 1.8 million solar installations now in operation across homes, businesses and solar farms throughout the UK. As adoption increases, so too does the importance of understanding the risks associated with these systems and the steps that can be taken to help manage them.
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 solar photovoltaic (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 exported electricity – you may be able to receive payments for surplus electricity exported to the grid through the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG).
Risk assessment of solar panels
Even though a large number of UK homes and commercial properties run on electricity derived from solar panels, there are not enough legislations 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 to keep not only you but also your property safe.
Construction
Before proceeding with the installation of roof-mounted solar panels, it’s important to consider the age of the roof. Most have an average lifespan of 15-20 years, after which their load-bearing capacity reduces. Any solar 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 solar 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 solar panels to mitigate fire hazards. Additionally, safe and easy access to the roof should 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 solar panels on various types of roofs.
Installation
Depending upon the roof type, solar 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, solar 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 solar panels should 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 which could lead to serious incidents.
Maintenance
Even though installers and designers often claim solar PV systems to be maintenance-free, regular maintenance is the best way to prevent 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. Solar Energy UK’s Rooftop O&M Guidelines recommend regular inspection and maintenance of solar PV systems, with the frequency determined by factors such as system size, design, location and operating conditions. Larger or more complex installations may require more frequent checks.
Moreover, extreme weather conditions such as snow and rain add more physical load to the solar 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 tend to be at their highest during heatwaves as the weather can cause systems to overheat. It is therefore 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 wirings and as a result, put strain on them, increasing the probability of a fire. This accident could potentially have been prevented if maintenance had been carried out and these issues had been promptly identified and fixed.
It is important to confirm details of your installation, risk management strategies (such as regular maintenance) and any additional information around construction, positioning and the like to your insurer or broker 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 helps ensure 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 solar 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 naturally 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 solar PV systems and emphasises the need for proper risk management, as well as adequate insurance of solar PV systems to help 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 solar PV systems in more depth or would just like some general insurance advice.
Originally posted: January 2023. Updated: July 2026.
