Solar panel fires across France: what may be causing them

A recent fire that broke out in Normandy has again raised the issue of solar panel safety, with an investigation still underway to determine the cause of the blaze.

The house that caught fire in Villerville (Calvados) had 12 solar panels on its roof. Despite arriving promptly, the fire brigade was unable to bring the fire under control before the house was destroyed. “They kept hosing it down, it just kept burning. It was endless,” a family member told Franceinfo.

Although the cause of the fire is as yet unknown, if solar panels were a factor it would not be the first time this has happened in France. 

Last summer, a school in the Gers region was partly destroyed due to a fire that broke out on its roof, with around 100 photovoltaic panels going up in smoke.

Firefighters had also indicated at the time that solar panels were present in similar incidents and may be associated with such fires, although the exact causes remain under investigation. 

“We have already had several incidents involving photovoltaic panels, particularly on agricultural sheds,” the SDIS 32, the fire and rescue division for the Gers department, said at the time. 

In April, a daycare roof with solar panels also caught fire in Saint-Julien-Puy-Lavèze in the Puy-de-Dôme.

According to firefighters, when water is sprayed on solar panels it usually runs off making it difficult to reach the hot spots.

Although the number of reported incidents may appear to be increasing, this is partly due to the rapid growth in the number of solar installations across France.

What causes solar panel-related fires

Most fire incidents linked to solar installations are not caused by the panels themselves, but by installation or electrical faults. 

“In 90% of cases, it’s a human error,” Sébastien Haybrard, photovoltaic expert working for Sebalyo Solar, a solar energy equipment supplier in Mirabeau in the Vaucluse department, told The Connexion. “Today the problem is that the market in France is developing enormously. There are many companies being created that don’t have the skills, that work cheaply, but it remains an electrical job with inherent risks.” 

He added that modern systems are generally designed to minimise fire risk, but only when correctly installed with appropriate equipment. 

“There are systems on the market today that are very close to zero in terms of fire risk, because they include integrated cut-off switches,” he explained. “They cost a bit more, but when a company doesn’t understand the job properly or uses poor quality equipment, a mistake on site unfortunately leads to problems.” 

Mr Haybrard stressed that fires are typically linked to associated electrical components rather than the panels themselves.

“It’s never really the panel itself,” he said. “It’s always the cables underneath that start to overheat. Very often it’s the electrical boxes.”

He listed typical causes as installation defects, wiring issues, or undersized components.

“Defective installation, faulty wiring, material that is sometimes undersized, breakers not correctly connected, or missing surge protection in the electrical boxes,” he said. 

Referring to the life cycle of the solar panels, he said that there was no specific “high-risk year” in the life of an installation, but rather a need for ongoing maintenance. 

“Normally, an electrical installation should be inspected,” he said. “For professionals it’s every year, and for private homes there is no strict obligation. But ideally, it should be checked at least every five years.” 

He added that modern monitoring systems can help detect overheating early, and that additional safety devices are now available.

“There are systems that can be added to electrical boxes so that if a fire starts, an extinguisher is triggered and the power is immediately cut,” he said.