EN 
PT_BR 
Fires in photovoltaic systems have taken over the news in recent months.
This month, a generator installed in a clothing store, located in the city of Rio Claro (SP), caught fire and part of the panels were completely destroyed.
In September, the second floor of an accounting office, located in Goiânia (GO), also caught fire. Company employees and neighbors observed that the flames were concentrated near the inverter, installed on the roof of the building.
Situations like these reinforce the need for capable installation companies, as well as the use of safe equipment and technologies that can preserve the lives and property of consumers.
Photovoltaic systems are not dangerous when designed and installed by qualified professionals.
In an exclusive interview with Canal Solar, the Captain Richard Birt, a firefighter who worked for 30 years at Las Vegas Fire and Rescue and founder of SAFE (Solar And Fire Education), gave tips on how to avoid fires in solar projects, highlighting the importance, precisely, of training, and of the lessons that Brazil can learn from the United States.
Training
For Birt, the qualification of professionals who are working with photovoltaic solar energy is a fundamental factor in preventing poor sizing or failures at connection points, for example, from causing fires and damage. “In addition, carrying out the inspection is essential to guarantee the security of the system.”
However, if the fire has already spread to the solar panels, he gave some guidance: “do not touch the panels when the flames have already been extinguished as there is a risk of electric shock. If possible, cover the modules without touching them. Use 3mm thick black plastic or traditional canvas”, he explained.
Another point highlighted is that when firefighters are called, it is essential that they find an area on the roof that is free from the modules and conduits that take the circuits to the inverter or charge controller. “Once that’s done, they can make a hole for ventilation.”
“After all, we won’t know where the wiring is running. We will want to solve the problem, put out the fires and rescue a possible victim. We can't stop and worry about whether there's wiring. We have to make decisions in a matter of seconds”, he emphasized.
Use of microinverters
According to the expert, photovoltaic energy will continue to grow exponentially in Brazil. However, he highlights that this type of growth raises a lot of concerns, mainly regarding security.
“The country is precisely at this crossroads, where it can choose to adopt more preventive security policies or not. A news published by Canal Solar shows precisely the mistakes I faced in the USA and how we have the chance to avoid such situations. In fact, I have seen this type of incident reported in the report thousands of times,” he said.
“People sometimes put the weight of price on the scale to the detriment of safety. You string inverters connected to solar panels were our only option 10 years ago, but now we have microinverter technology that can help prevent possible fires”, he highlighted.
“I faced many problems with very high risk of direct current with conventional inverters. In this case, with microinverters, a large part of the circuit is alternating current, which makes the operation safer, both for the installer, the user and the security professional who will work in this type of incident”, he reinforced.
Legislation in the USA
Another point highlighted by Richard Birt is that when choosing a product, it is necessary to always be aware of the regulatory parameters that will govern it. “It is also important to have an efficient preventive maintenance program, which will be crucial for the safety of the photovoltaic system.”
In accordance with US legislation, the specialist said that for small residential installations it is mandatory to use microinverter or optimizer technology, which have rapid shutdown (quick shutdown of the photovoltaic system). “In other words, in urgent cases, it can be switched off at the module level”.
About Captain Birt
Captain Richard Birt retired in January 2021 from Las Vegas Fire and Rescue after a 30-year career in the fire service.
He and his family lived in a house for 13 years that was not connected to the electrical grid and was powered by a solar panel and battery system that he designed and installed.
A longtime advocate for renewable energy, Birt is the founder of SAFE, which provides free training to firefighters across the country.
The institution's goal is to teach firefighters how to safely mitigate a fire in a residential structure involving photovoltaic modules and batteries, and how renewable energy can help communities become more resilient to power outages caused by grid failures.
Additionally, he led a humanitarian relief effort in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. The mission resulted in the installation of 15 microgrids at strategically positioned fire stations across the island.
These microgrids have allowed emergency services to remain operational and save countless lives even after the complete destruction of Puerto Rico's power grid.
Captain Birt was awarded his fire department's Medal of Honor for his work in Puerto Rico and continues his disaster relief work as a technical consultant for the nonprofit organizations Solar Responders and Empowered by Light.
7 Responses
I also disagree, every customer has the right to look for the best price and as GDs are new, it is up to each one of us who work with this product, to be responsible, to always present the best, safest, most efficient and above all service quality without worrying about offering only price to the customer to beat the competition. Attitudes different from these usually cost the customer and the image of all of us dearly.
These installations are relatively new in Brazil and these types of accidents tend to increase mainly in installations carried out by professionals who do not have the necessary knowledge to execute the project. Personally, I like central inverters instead of micro inversions but I understand that many aspects need to be considered such as: cost, ease of access for maintenance, security, dc circuit current, fire fighting, etc. Taking out insurance!
I set up my project myself and I never stop implementing improvements, grounding, residual circuit breaker, surge protector, safe wiring, system monitoring, load... The more careful, the better, and keep an eye out for these types of events. What's cheap can be very expensive. Be very careful when purchasing.
We must not carry out installations that compromise safety and especially human lives, serve customers who are opting for the cheapest option and do not meet safety standards and the responsibility of the installer, especially, in addition to tarnishing the image of the companies involved.
Conventional panels are susceptible to “hot spots” or flammability of the cells due to problems with the cells themselves. This causes most fires in installations and this effect IS INDEPENDENT of the installer. I recommend AESolar panels, they are panels free from this effect.
I disagree with this strange statement that the “big problem” is the customer wanting to save money. We can all and should want to save money, but that's not why the integrator can do a bad job and if it catches fire, blame the customer because they wanted to save money.
Training is essential in all sectors, in Photovoltaic Energy even more so. This is the big problem, the client wants to save on energy and on the design of the Photovoltaic System.