Making sense of bushfires, smoke and solar panels  

We noticed that with the smokey conditions around Melbourne recently that we had a slight drop in our company’s solar power system output. Despite what you might think, solar panels continue to operate perfectly during cloudy, smokey or even foggy conditions. Moderate shading of solar panels doesn’t affect their performance. In fact, solar panels operate best during cooler conditions, so while the available sunlight may decrease the system’s efficiency improves.

With the recent bush fires throughout rural Victoria, a number of residents in affected areas were asked to evacuate their homes. Depending on the degree of urgency it would be beneficial to power down your solar power system (switching off the inverter) to lessen any chance of damaging the equipment. Common sense must prevail, if you are evacuating quickly your safety and personal possessions should always come first.

One myth surrounding rooftop solar panels is that they pose a hindrance to fire fighters. Rooftop access to a property that is on fire is beneficial, either in directly dousing flames or by creating an opening in the roof to allow the dangerous build up of smoke and noxious gases to escape. When designing a solar power system for a rooftop large gaps between rows of panels and/or against edges of multi-story buildings must be left for just such reasons.

Strict regulations govern the placement of solar panels on a roof, bodies such as the Clean Energy Council certify solar panel installers to ensure they are aware of such regulations. It’s important, therefore, that when selecting a solar power company that customers ensure the company and the installers have the appropriate certifications.

Also, your solar panels are extremely unlikely to cause a fire. Hundreds of thousands of the people across the globe have solar panels installed on their buildings and homes with very few issues. Instead, you should be scrutinising your everyday household items; toaster, heaters, TVs and electric blankets.

Less of an issue with smoke and more a problem caused by extended dry conditions (i.e. bush fire season) is the potential for solar panels to become dusty and dirty. Usually this isn’t a problem, very often a light shower of rain will clean the panels sufficiently but should they require a gentle cleaning it is not too difficult.