– It’s like that – ohhh – I get really shaky when I think about it. Svein Tollefsen touches his face and is clearly affected by what happened a few days ago. His wife was at home dozing when the fire started in the middle of the day. But she noticed nothing. – I was aware of smells, but it smelled nothing, says Else Tollefsen. There is extensive damage to the top of the roof. Photo: Åse Karin Hansen / news It was a random passerby who saw that the roof was on fire. They knocked and got her out of the house. – I think that if five more minutes had passed, it would have been too late to save Else, says Svein Tollefsen. Challenging fires When the fire brigade arrived at the scene, there was a full fire in the roof, which was covered by an integrated solar cell system. It was a demanding job for the fire brigade to extinguish the fire. – The problem with the solar panels is that even if the power is disconnected down to the fuse box, they still produce power. The solar panels must be covered or removed for them to stop producing electricity, says Rogaland fire and rescue team leader Eirik Hjelm. It was only when the solar panels burned to pieces that the fire brigade managed to remove the panels. The fire brigade had to remove solar panels to extinguish the fire. Photo: Heidi Karin Gilje Skog – It is very difficult and challenging to put out such fires. We don’t have much experience with this yet. A report from last year concluded that fires in solar installations are complicated fires. It determined that the fire service needs training in this type of fire. – We have had exercises in this, and we use protective equipment such as gloves that do not conduct electricity. But as I said, we have little experience in this, says Hjelm. Two-month-old plant It is only two months since the solar plant was put into use. High electricity prices, large consumption and the green shift were decisive factors in Tollefsen deciding to purchase the plant. – Our house has a south-facing roof which is well suited for solar systems. It was so big that it produced more electricity than even we, with our consumption, were able to use up. This entire part of the roof was covered in solar panels. When the fire brigade got control of the fire, the rest of the panels were covered with a tarpaulin so that they would not produce electricity. Photo: Åse Karin Hansen / news It was Byggmester Bob AS who was the general contractor for the delivery of the solar system. Finance manager Trond Birkedal does not want to comment on the fire other than that they are waiting for the investigation to see what could be the cause of the fire. The police have already closed the case. It will now be up to the insurance company to find the cause of the fire. – The fitter was very professional. There was no reason to suspect that something like this could happen, says Tollefsen. Connections are a weak point 2022 was a record year for the installation of solar systems. Almost 7,600 facilities were put in place. That is as much as the three previous years combined, according to figures from NVE. In the Norwegian Directorate for Social Security and Emergency Preparedness, DSB, they are currently taking a closer look at the solar cell industry. – We will issue information to the industry where we specify which requirements apply to, among other things, the assembly of solar cell systems. We are also considering other measures to follow up the actors, says Jon Eirik Holst, section manager for electrical safety with the supervisory regions. – Why are you doing this? – Findings made during inspections and after fires in solar cell systems indicate that there are a number of assembly errors. DSB does not have statistics for fires involving solar cell systems. Neither has electricity tariff man Per Iver Strand. But he has seen an increase in fires in connection with solar installations in the last couple of years. – This is mainly due to incorrect assembly in the cases I have had. This applies in particular to DC switches. I have not found any faults with the product itself. According to Strand, it is important that the correct switches are used and that the connections are made according to the recipe. When it comes to the actual installation of the panels on the outer roof, ventilation on the underside of the solar panels is important. – There are many connections under there, and it is important that the plugs match. It is a weak point. If done correctly, there should be no problem. But there have been a number of problems with different players who supply different types of plugs. They cannot be used together. More experience in Germany CEO of the Solar Energy Cluster, Trine Kopstad Berentsen, speaks on a general basis and says that the industry has a strong focus on all aspects of installing solar systems. – Without knowing the fire in Sandnes, we can on a general basis refer to German studies of fires in solar power plants which show that the vast majority of fires in solar cell systems are due to assembly errors. – There is no reason to say that solar cells increase the risk of fire on a general basis. . Svein Tollefsen Photo: Åse Karin Hansen / news In the Tollefsen family, they now have an uninhabitable house. The roof has extensive fire damage, and the lower part of the house is full of water after the extinguishing work. Svein Tollefsen does not know if there will be a new solar cell system when the house is rebuilt. – If you ask me now, the answer is no. It was on the hanging hair that it went well with us. If there is a safer solution, then maybe. We’ll see, says Svein Tollefsen.
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Fire in solar panel on roof – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
