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Posted on 09/02/2022 in Electric & Electronic Building & Construction Fire Safety 2021
Alexander Kuchner, CURRENTA Fire Technology

Alexander Kuchner, CURRENTA Fire Technology, presented the results of fire testing of photovoltaic (PV) systems on roofs. In Europe, roofs are tested and approved for specific scenarios, including external fire impacts. But what happens in this context to already approved roofs, on which a PV system has been installed, under the influence of external fire? In principle, elevated PV systems on roofs lead to a different fire behavior of the roof: the PV module represents an additional fire load and partially prevents the flow of heat, which leads to a more intense thermal load on the roof structure. It has been shown that the damage pattern on the roof structure is comparable in terms of the insulation materials used, none of the tested insulations contributed significantly to the fire. But the fire behavior of the various PV modules is widely variable depending on the manufacturer, design and materials used. In conclusion, the results show that for the safe implementation of the energy transition, the fire protection requirements for PV modules need to be re-evaluated.

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