PV shutdown in case of fire: Is it possible?
What does this mean for the fire department when there is a fire in a house with photovoltaics?
A photovoltaic system is a real power plant that can generate voltages up to 1000 volts in the form of DC voltage, depending on the design of the system. Such a solar power plant is rarely the cause of a fire. But what if there is a fire in the house? Then the roof and the solar cables are still live. This is the main danger for the fire department: high voltages with unknown cable routing and, first of all, danger from electric arcs, risk of electric shock and burns, because it is DC voltage. It doesn't matter whether it is 1000 V or 400 V. For the human body, as little as 12 milliamperes of current is enough to cause at least permanent damage. Add to this the fact that the fire has to be extinguished with water - and that is not compatible with electrical voltage.
To extinguish a fire, the emergency services first have to make sure that the voltages are switched off. However, this is virtually impossible, because the inverters are located in the basement, and someone has to get there first. In addition, only the inverter is disconnected from the grid: the conventional PV system itself is not, because it continues to produce electricity as soon as a beam of light falls on the cells. For this reason, the company has developed a special system, a module-based Single module shutdown BFA (Fire shutdown) developed together with the fire department, writes the provider SolteQ. Text: Dipl.-Ing. Berkay Bayer, SolteQ Company
For further information on the subject of "fire protection and solar systems" is a corresponding Leaflet of the Association of Cantonal Fire Insurers (VKF) available.
