{"id":165499,"date":"2026-09-09T08:38:36","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T07:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=165499"},"modified":"2026-09-09T08:38:36","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T07:38:36","slug":"help-the-pv-fire-intelligence-network-to-make-solar-pv-systems-safer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/energy-news\/help-the-pv-fire-intelligence-network-to-make-solar-pv-systems-safer\/165499\/","title":{"rendered":"Help the PV Fire Intelligence Network to make solar PV systems safer"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Photovoltaic Fire Intelligence Network (PV-FIN) was established to improve the safety of solar PV systems through collaboration, research and the sharing of knowledge<\/h2>\n

Its primary focus is to investigate and understand the causes of solar PV-related fires, enabling the development of recommendations and practical solutions to reduce future incidents.<\/p>\n

Solar PV systems are inherently safe, as demonstrated by the millions of installations operating successfully worldwide. However, as adoption continues to grow rapidly, the number of fire incidents<\/a> is also expected to increase, even where failure rates remain low.<\/p>\n

PV-FIN was established not to create concern within the industry but to better understand current failures, identify their causes and develop practical measures to prevent future incidents.<\/p>\n

By implementing evidence-based recommendations, the initiative aims to reduce financial losses, protect lives and minimise damage to property and the environment.<\/p>\n

Central to the project is the collection and analysis of reliable qualitative and quantitative data on PV-related fires. To address current gaps in available information, PV-FIN is reaching out to stakeholders across the sector with a request for supporting data.<\/p>\n

Industry insight<\/h3>\n

PV-FIN have identified two streams of data that will provide different but complementary information on solar PV incidents. The first will provide an indication of what solar, electrical and fire professionals are currently observing with regards to the safety of solar PV installations today. The second will provide more reliable information on the exact causes of historic fire incidents involving solar installations.<\/p>\n

The first stream of data is being gathered using a series of questionnaires<\/a> targeted at individuals, organisations and professionals who have knowledge of, or experience with, solar PV fire incidents, near misses or related work practices.<\/p>\n

They can support this work confidentially reporting on experiences by completing the questionnaires, which are available online at www.pvfin.org<\/a>. The questionnaire is designed to capture information specifically with regards to general work practices, near miss incidents and actual fire incidents in which solar PV systems were the cause of the fire.<\/p>\n

These three questionnaires cover the following:<\/p>\n