Anode
Member
- Location
- Washington, USA
Does anyone have a resource for a list of fires that were caused by photovoltaic systems, or fires that were not caused by them, but had to be dealt with by first responders? A fire department engineer has expressed that there have been many fires, and this is a real issue.
The FD is concerned with clearance of solar to roof in a ballasted system, and a host of other issues some modeled after California's standards. If this set of criteria is not met, they are saying they will enforce a requirement for sprinklers to be installed between the solar modules and the roof deck. One of the main requirements is that the low edge of the solar module cannot be less than 9" from the roof deck, which categorically excludes many ballasted racking systems.
I have never heard of such a thing... I know this is not necessarily electrical code related, but definitely code related for solar. When asked about these codes, I got "we are sort of making this up as we go along". Which doesn't help my pre-planning phase.
Ultimately, I cannot blame them, I believe in increased safety, and some of you will disagree with me, but the intent of 690.12 as an example is a good thing in my opinion. Of course, I think having sprinklers installed for solar systems is perhaps going to an extreme length. Thoughts? Wisdom? Anyone have this magic list I am curious about?
The FD is concerned with clearance of solar to roof in a ballasted system, and a host of other issues some modeled after California's standards. If this set of criteria is not met, they are saying they will enforce a requirement for sprinklers to be installed between the solar modules and the roof deck. One of the main requirements is that the low edge of the solar module cannot be less than 9" from the roof deck, which categorically excludes many ballasted racking systems.
I have never heard of such a thing... I know this is not necessarily electrical code related, but definitely code related for solar. When asked about these codes, I got "we are sort of making this up as we go along". Which doesn't help my pre-planning phase.
Ultimately, I cannot blame them, I believe in increased safety, and some of you will disagree with me, but the intent of 690.12 as an example is a good thing in my opinion. Of course, I think having sprinklers installed for solar systems is perhaps going to an extreme length. Thoughts? Wisdom? Anyone have this magic list I am curious about?