NFPA Journal - Summer 2023 - 30

Research by Birgitte Messerschmidt
THE GLOBAL
VIEW ON FIRE
RESEARCH
Risk-Benefit
A EUROPEAN UNION PLAN FOR SOLAR INSTALLATIONS ON BUILDINGS PROMISES CLIMATE
BENEFITS WHILE INTRODUCING FIRE SAFETY CHALLENGES. WHERE'S THE BALANCE?
A
fter Russia attacked
Ukraine last year, the
European Union sped up
its plan to become energy
independent by boosting
the production of renewable energy
through its REPowerEU plan. Draft
legislation to be voted on later this year
requires member states to ensure that
suitable solar energy installations are
included on all new public and commercial
buildings with a total floor area
larger than 250 square meters (2,691
square feet) by the end of 2026, on all
existing public and commercial buildings
with a total floor area larger than 250
square meters by the end of 2027, and on
all new residential buildings by the end
of 2029. It's an ambitious plan that will
transform the European building stock
in unprecedented ways.
While adding photovoltaic (PV) panels
with combustibles such as gas and oil is
that continuous improvement of building
codes and standards have made it safe to
have such fuels available in our buildings.
Changing to renewable energies does not
represent a higher risk, but it does represent
a different risk than what we have
designed our buildings for.
The experience of a global company
Renewable energies
do not represent a
higher risk, but they
do represent a
different risk than
what we've designed
our buildings for.
to rooftops will doubtless bring significant
benefits from a climate and energy
perspective, it will also introduce fire safety
challenges. To help ensure that the EU's green transition is also
a safe one, the Fire Protection Research Foundation and NFPA
arranged a workshop on PV panel installation on commercial
buildings in March in Brussels, Belgium. The goal was to review
the latest research and experiences related to these installations
to identify best practices for safety and installation, considerations
for new policy recommendations and regulations, and
knowledge gaps. Participants included a member of the European
Parliament and a representative from the European Commission,
as well as building owners, insurance company representatives,
and researchers from the EU and U.S.
It didn't surprise me that the European Parliament and
European Commission representatives displayed little concern
for the fire safety implications of rooftop PV panels. Their focus
was on energy production, and they argued that using electricity
for heating and cooking is less of a fire risk than gas or oil.
What they and others forget is that the reason we live safely
30 | NFPA JOURNAL * SUMMER 2023
with PV panels installed on most of its
buildings illustrated the challenges with
this technology as well as potential solutions.
Research from the University
of Edinburgh/Technical University of
Denmark and FM Global showed how
installing PV panels on rooftops changes
fire dynamics and can lead to significant
flame spread on a roof that otherwise
would have been considered safe if no
panels were present. Insurance representatives
described how they are trying to
mitigate this risk for their clients, and a
member of the Amsterdam fire department
outlined fire service concerns with
fighting fires on buildings with PV panels.
Discussions emphasized that adding PV panels to rooftops
should not be done without clear guidance on how it can be
done without compromising fire safety. It was also clear that
more research is needed to better understand the interactions
between PV panels and roof components. This should then lead
to a standardized test method that includes both PV panels as
well as the entire roof buildup to show how all the different
components interact during a fire.
A key takeaway for me was that fire safety is once again playing
catch-up to other societal interests, and fire safety advocates
are seen as trying to impede progress. This is not our intention-on
the contrary. We want to ensure that efforts such as
these can happen in a way that is safe for all.
The report from the workshop will be available in May at
nfpa.org/foundation.
BIRGITTE MESSERSCHMIDT directs the Applied Research Group at NFPA.
MICHAEL HOEWELER
http://www.nfpa.org/foundation
NFPA Journal - Summer 2023

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