Homemade panel fire

[juice]

It must take a lot of guts to get instructions for assembling your own sun collector on the roof of your house from the internet. Next week's project? Home brew fission reactors in five easy steps!

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dad jokes

[SpaceOddacy]

Anyone bring the marshmallows?

[martinjsto]

The see issue is not the home made solar panels, it could of been his home made computer or light switch he wired himself or even his car radio he put in. the point is it the method and failsafe systems incorporated in the design and his knowledge and skills that determineds if the end result will burn down his house or not. he obviously only researched the methods for a short time and followed bad advice and did not use common sence and had limited skills. to attempt to build a solar panel is an advanced DIY not for the handyman or weekend warier.

I cannot believe people pay for a panel made of wood and think it will last and be safe,
however panels being made with alluminium frame, glass top, Sylgard 184 encapsulant, have nothing to burn. see

http://cses.anu.edu.au/files/Ketola08_silicones_for_pv_encapsulation.pdf

this of course leaves the wiring, and i think there is more potential for death or fire from shoddy wiring than from panels.

[russ]

What burns is the material adjacent to the panel - a roof perhaps.

The potential problem with a panel is the high current and heat generated - unlike what a homemade PC or car radio would have. A panel located 150mm (6 inches) off a roof is not far at all in the event of a short circuit.

Many of the people asking about and interested in DIY are not like yourself or RifRaf who have the necessary skills.

[Sunking]

What burns is the material adjacent to the panel - a roof perhaps.

Or possible the wiring, batteries, ect... There are many things that can go wrong. If the Electrical Code is followed, quality listed materials suitable for the purpose, and proper workmanship executed then the risk are very small. Problem for DIY stuff, is the DIY's do not even know what questions to ask.

[SolarTekkie]

So polycarbonate front is no good?

[Mike90250]

If poly-carb is flammable, it's not good

[SolarTekkie]

Fair enough... it's kind of irrelevant due to the UL listing thing, I wish I had known that before I started. It was a fun project for a few days at least.

[Kathryn Griffin]

solar panel fire

just had a solar panel catch on fire on our roof; Can anyone tell me what Sylgard is, and if that would have prevented the fire?

[SolarTekkie]

What kind of temperatures and conditions do you have? what was the panel made out of? Was there major damage done?

I'm interested to know the variables, if you don't mind.

[Mike90250]

just had a solar panel catch on fire on our roof; Can anyone tell me what Sylgard is, and if that would have prevented the fire?

That's a bummer ! I hope everything is OK.

But, if you have photos, and any report about what the panel construction was, I'm sure we'd all like to hear about it.

Sylguard: (is not fireporof, from MSDS)
Hazardous Decomposition Products
Thermal breakdown of this product during fire or very high heat conditions may evolve the following decomposition products: Carbon oxides and traces of incompletely burned carbon compounds. Silicon dioxide. Hydrogen. Formaldehyde.

[Scraniel]

So what is the exact reason why a DIY panel may catch fire? Does this happen immediately ( a short time into the life of the panel) or as a result of continuous heat? I live in a very hot and humid climate. What effects does humidity have on possible DIY panel fires?

[Sunking]

So what is the exact reason why a DIY panel may catch fire? Does this happen immediately ( a short time into the life of the panel) or as a result of continuous heat? I live in a very hot and humid climate. What effects does humidity have on possible DIY panel fires?

Does it really matter? All you need to know is your insurance company is going to tell you: "Sorry Your House Burnt Down, But You Are Not Covered. Have A Nice Day".

[Scraniel]

Huh?! What kind of answer is that?

What is the point of having a forum on a topic if the participants aren't going to give straight answers on that topic?

Is there anyone who can answer my questions above please?

[Mike90250]

Most will catch fire because of the voltage, heat, and moisture.

Any of them by themselves can start a fire, but in a solar array you can have up to 600V generated by panels, they are nice an toasty on the sunny roof, and a little moisture helps leakage paths, till they heat up for some nice carbon tracks. Add in flammable wood, paint, plastics, and some homemade solder joints and you have all the ingredients for fire.

And your insurance is void.