A Review for Solar Panel Fire Accident Prevention in Large-Scale PV Applications

Zuyu Wu,Jennifer X Wen,Fubao Zhou,Xianming Ye,Yihua Hu

doi:10.1109/access.2020.3010212

Abstract

Due to the wide applications of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology, safe operation and maintenance of the installed solar panels become more critical as there are potential menaces such as hot spot effects and DC arcs, which may cause fire accidents to the solar panels. In order to minimize the risks of fire accidents in large scale applications of solar panels, this review focuses on the latest techniques for reducing hot spot effects and DC arcs. The risk mitigation solutions mainly focus on two aspects: structure reconfiguration and faulty diagnosis algorithm. The first is to reduce the hot spot effect by adjusting the space between two PV modules in a PV array or relocate some PV modules. The second is to detect the DC arc fault before it causes fire. There are three types of arc detection techniques, including physical analysis, neural network analysis, and wavelet detection analysis. Through these detection methods, the faulty PV cells can be found in a timely manner thereby reducing the risk of PV fire. Based on the review, some precautions to prevent solar panel related fire accidents in large-scale solar PV plants that are located adjacent to residential and commercial areas.

Highlights

Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels have been widely applied to harness solar power for its renewable and environment-friendly features
According to [1], there is a 2% probability that a fire may occur to PV arrays each year with 0.6% of the fire accidents occurring in residential areas and 3.5% of them started from some rooftop PV modules
In order to reduce the risks of field solar panels related fire accidents, this review summarizes the cause factors and some effective fire prevention solutions to the field solar panels

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels have been widely applied to harness solar power for its renewable and environment-friendly features. Z. Wu et al.: Review for Solar Panel Fire Accident Prevention in Large-Scale PV Applications. Some fireproof obstacles must be installed between two modules, which effectively prevent the spread of fire in a large-scale PV array. It has the highest response due to the thin-film technologies (e.g., copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cells) These results have an impact on PV fire-prone areas [9], [10]. In order to reduce the risks of field solar panels related fire accidents, this review summarizes the cause factors and some effective fire prevention solutions to the field solar panels.

ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS FOR SOLAR PANEL FIRE ACCIDENTS

FAULT DIAGNOSIS

Findings

CONCLUSION