Experts from the Netherlands Institute for Public Safety (NIPV), the Royal Netherlands Standardization Institute (NEN), and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) have mapped fire incidents across the country in buildings with PV systems. They identified a significant increase in such incidents between 2022 and 2023.
They said in their report that fires affected around 10,000 buildings in the Netherlands between 2022 and 2023, with 152 cases (2%) involving rooftop PV systems. Of these, 70 were investigated by fire teams, revealing that 31 fires started in the PV system, while 29 were caused by external factors. The cause remained unknown in 11 cases.
The researchers found that 28 of the 31 PV system-related fires occurred in conventional rooftop systems, while three involved building-integrated PV (BIPV) systems. They also determined that 27 of these fires could be linked to defects in system installations or components.
“Until 2023, building fires involving solar energy systems were not structurally registered,” the three institutes said in a statement. “This study is a first attempt to gain more insight into building fires with PV systems and to develop a test method for the impact of these systems on roofs.”
They said they also expect PV fires to increase in the future, as many solar panels are now reaching the end of their lifespan and may be less safe.
“The enormous demand for PV systems has led to an increase in installation companies that in some cases do not install completely according to the standards,” they added.
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