Plug in solar

greyteam1959

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82039347#Comment_82039347

So we are now calling plug in solar PIS ???

😁😁😁😁😁

Scot_39

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82039114#Comment_82039114

Why - you or your landlord / freeholder should have own insurance - or face the consequences.

No different from those who dont take travel / medical insurance out when going overseas. And lose £1000s to save £10s.

Alnat1

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82039905#Comment_82039905

What if it's a Plug In Solar System? 🤣

Scot_39

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82039140#Comment_82039140

Yes

Fires -

Balcony solar panel fires are well reported in Germany.

There increasingly being reported in UK for roof panels and associated electronics too.

Teh balcony panels iirc - at about the same incidence rate as other domestic appliances - say the infamous fridge freezer case.

However - given mounting - a fire on panel itself - it was suggested in one report - that few end up causing serious fires / block structural damage - invertors thats another issue - especially if indoors.

Falling off

Not sure seen stats - but see my above post to the German equivalent of a hybrid sort of Which/Trading standards test body reports - of stress testing on panel mounts - and the many mild to serious failures.

And that was on new kit - not kit exposed to elements and vibration etc - for years. How many do you reckon will check bolts for tightness and corrossion - weeks/months/years after fitting these panels. Or could spot a stress fracture about to fail.

Or the many posts of those who didn't mount properly - on roofs against walls / fences - and blew off.

And if there not fixed - but say just left on a balcony - then lots of other kit has blown off - lose - chairs - flower planters etc - but yes even flower boxes bolted onto balconies etc.

Some blocks now ban all kit from balconies - even in extremes if attended.

I can see many - understandably now even more risk averse - large block freeholders banning these balcony panels - for both reasons.

QrizB

There increasingly being reported in UK for roof panels and associated electronics too.

But they're still uncommon. They're only newsworthy because they're unusual.

For example, per this report:

According to QBE, UK fire services recorded 107 fires involving a solar panel in 2022.

The company reported that this rose to 128 incidents in 2023 and 171 in 2024.

Over the same period, QBE said the total number of installed solar panels nationally grew from 1,309,447 in 2022 to 1,697,231 in 2024.

So in 2024, with 1.7 million installations and 171 fires, that's one fire for every ten thousand installations.

Per this article there are 34000 house fires in the UK per year. Very roughly one fire for every thousand houses. So a house with solar panels is ~ten times more likely to experience a fire that isn't caused by the solar panels, rather than one which is.

Scot_39

A house with 2 risks is still riskier than a house with one and a house with none.

Would I not have solar because its a big risk - no - would I make sure I was insured for that risk - definitely.

In a small tenement - you might be looking at say 3-4 for half the flats - but those are typically wired more like individual homes

In a large block - you could be looking at say dozens - 50+ - feeding power not only back into flats - but the excess back through the blocks own distribution system.

And a risk of 4 is higher than one - a risk of 50 is far higher than the risk from one.

And I cannot help thinking - there is a lot or risk averse freeholders - and a lot of block tennats - who will be unwilling to support increasing - no matter how small - there blocks risk - after in some cases years of punitive insurance // fire safety costs many have faced (many still might).