Many solar systems have been sold over the years as requiring “no maintenance”.
However, inspection of the Installation & Maintenance Guidelines of the equipment that you’ve had installed will show a completely different picture.
Depending on the type of system that you’ve had installed, it will likely be a requirement of your insurer to have elements of your system maintained – annually.
What’s the problem if I don’t get my system maintained?
Aside from potential lower generation figures, then lower financial returns, with the rush to hit previously available feed-in-tariff deadlines many systems have been installed without the due care and attention required which has resulted in rooftop fires becoming more commonplace.
A report by the Building Research Establishment (BRE), BRE National Solar Centre (NSC) and the BRE Global Fire Safety Group, on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (now BEIS), identified some of the main causes of solar related fires.
You can read the reports here;
Fire and Solar PV Systems – Recommendations
Fire and Solar PV Systems – Evidence
These are reported incidences. The actual number is expected to be far higher.
A fire on Hove Town Hall caused by faulty solar panels made national headlines a few years ago.
The report can be seen above