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How would that cause a fire?
by egdod 7y ago
How would that cause a fire?
- Iv 7y agoOnce all the clearance is gone, panels can push each other and all sorts of breakage can happen.
- dev_dull 7y agoAt least in my installation they’re all strongly fastened to a cross bar. I’m not quite sure how they would shift in that scenario?
- avs733 7y agoTheorizing... Reduced gaps can limit/change air circulation. No matter the efficiency, solar panels absorb/create a nontrivial amount of heat that could be trapped underneath. That heat alone could be a problem or it could accelerate wear of other systems/parts. You could also have breakage, rubbing, pulling, or other mechanical issues that can result in shorts and by extension fires. What is in the article suggests poor quality control or poor quality installation to my eye. The solar city acquisition still stinks to me of one Musk company buying another Musk company using investor money and shouting 'synergy' until people refocused on the poor quality of Tesla's car production instead.
- heimatau 7y agoVery interesting theory when it comes to the change in air circulation. But I can't imagine a situation where that would occur unless Walmart's claims are valid on 'poor installation'. The brackets, that hold up the rails, that go into the roof should lock in and shouldn't be any cause for concern. The underbelly of the panels do run warm but they aren't hot, except in extreme heat. Nor is there any thought to the air circulation when designing a system, since the panels themselves don't have holes in the sides to encourage flow between an array.
- londons_explore 7y agoNot enough air circulation is unlikely to get anything much over 100C, not hot enough to start a fire... In OP's case, something electrical was almost certainly involved...