Researchers have developed a framework to assess fire risk and improve resilience in building integrated photovoltaic façades, a technology that combines solar power generation with the building envelope. The study titled ‘Framework for fire risk assessment and resilience optimization of building-integrated photovoltaic façades,’ responds to growing deployment of photovoltaic façades as developers pursue low carbon buildings and nearly zero energy performance.
Global cumulative photovoltaic capacity reached close to 3 TW in 2025, with an estimated 698 GW of new capacity installed worldwide. As suitable land becomes scarcer and buildings seek to cut operational emissions, photovoltaic systems are increasingly moving from ground mounted plants and rooftops into façades.
The research combines normalised variance contribution sensitivity analysis, the analytic hierarchy process and triangular fuzzy number analytic hierarchy process methods. It evaluates risks across electrical faults, external climatic conditions, photovoltaic module composition and installation conditions.
The study finds that fire risk in building integrated photovoltaic façades arises from the combined influence of multiple factors rather than one isolated failure mode. Direct current voltage and current magnitude ranked first across all three methods, contributing 8.17% in the normalised variance contribution analysis, 13.44% in the analytic hierarchy process and 13.67% in the triangular fuzzy number version.
Photovoltaic systems commonly operate at direct current voltages of 300 to 1000 V. Increased contact resistance, insulation degradation or circuit damage can cause local overheating, sustained arcing and ignition of nearby combustible materials.
The ageing of photovoltaic modules and associated equipment, circuit contact resistance, the glass type used in modules and the fire performance of encapsulation materials were consistently identified as high risk factors. Encapsulation materials such as ethylene vinyl acetate and polyvinyl butyral, along with junction boxes and other polymeric components, can add to the fire load of a building when they decompose or burn.
Environmental conditions also matter. Temperature, dust accumulation and wind loads can affect module heat dissipation, fault development and flame heat feedback. Installation factors, including the gap between panels and the building, installation form and installation angle, can influence flame propagation, panel breakage and heat release.
The framework also maps dominant risks to practical resilience measures. Ignition prevention and fire spread suppression together account for 60.83% of the total weighting in the resilience optimisation results, while rapid shutdown ranks first among individual measures at 19.62%.
The researchers argue that fire safety management should focus more on preventing ignition and controlling fires in their early stages than on passive response after a fire has started. They prioritise rapid shutdown protection, compliant equipment and wiring connections, improved flammability ratings for encapsulation materials and electroluminescence detection technology.
The findings are intended to support fire safety design, operation, maintenance and emergency planning for building integrated photovoltaic façades. The authors note that the framework currently provides relative risk rankings rather than quantitative predictions, and that future validation will require standardised large scale fire tests, field monitoring data and real incident records.
Link to full paper HERE 
Author: Bryan Groenendaal






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