The Olympic Aquatic Center in Sydney, Australia, was evacuated this week after smoke billowed in plumes from its roof. A fire started inside the rooftop solar panel array.
“Upon investigation, crews found a working fire in the solar panels on the roof of the sporting facility.”
Fire crews used a ladder platform to attack the flames and were able to get the blaze under control within about 45 minutes.
FRNSW confirmed that more than 2,500 people had to be evacuated during the incident.
According to Hot Air’s reporting, while we don’t hear much about rooftop solar panel fires, they are becoming more common.
The number of fires involving solar panels has soared after a boom in their use driven by energy bill rises, The Independent can reveal.
Data obtained under freedom of information rules show that there were six times the number of fires involving solar panels last year compared with 10 years ago.
The rate has increased sharply with 66 fires already recorded up until July this year compared with 63 for the whole of 2019, prompting concern from safety experts who are worried about a lack of regulation on who can install them.
Older installations are more likely to spark up, but it is a growing concern for anyone with a rooftop array; it is not just the likelihood of an installation quirk. You run the constant risk of outdoor storm damage.
If you have solar panels on your roof, it also changes how smoke escapes from your burning home.
“The dispersion of fire smoke from rooftops with PV raises significant safety concerns regarding residents’ exposure,” the group said. “Therefore, it is essential to investigate the phenomenon of smoke dispersion generated by rooftop PV fires, particularly through rooftop openings such as skylights.”
The amount of time you have depends on the slope of your roof. “For the 60-degree rooftop, residents have approximately 12 minutes to evacuate, while for other rooftops (less than 45 degrees), residents have only about four minutes.”
Back in the Day
In the early days of solar bailouts, homeowners were often unknowingly saddled with liens on their homes. Finance companies leveraging the installation cost would put liens on property to protect their investment, which meant the owner could not sell their property until they addressed the lien. I’m not sure that’s still a thing, but solar (bailout) incentives continue to drive installations by companies that pop up to take advantage of the government’s interference in the market.
There are reputable companies and certified installers, but has anyone talked to homeowners about the fire risk or how PV on your roof changes the environment of either an in-home or rooftop fire? I can’t say.
Did they even warn them about the possibility of a rooftop fire? Given that few, if any, solar companies even want to discuss the end-of-life costs for removal and disposal (which are not insignificant as recycling is still not something they’ve mastered), I can’t imagine the fire risk is a topic of much interest. Expired panels are toxic, as is any reclamation process. You’d think that people possessed with at least the perception of a public obligation to do the right thing for the community (during COVID) would have a vested interest in this problem.
You’d be wrong. It is another can they kick down the road. Much like the answer to this question. How many “emissions” were generated by that 45-minute (+/-) rooftop array fire? Or, put another way, are there “credits” you can buy to offset exhausting the fumes from burning the toxic components of PV panels for about an hour? How much do those cost, who benefits, and who has to pay?
I’m guessing one such fire erases all the pretend 20 years’ worth of “savings” from that installation and at least a few others. And while these fires are on the rise, you look away and keep on keeping on, you green money laundering, earth-wrecking bastards.
