Overview
- Southwest Research Institute ran controlled, full-scale experiments to measure flame spread beneath photovoltaic arrays on flat commercial and industrial roofs.
- The program compared three common racking orientations, then evaluated uncovered walkways and vertical barriers as mitigation features on the most fire-prone layouts.
- Researchers also conducted a bare-deck comparison to quantify how PV systems alter fire behavior relative to typical roofing alone.
- Testing took place in SwRI’s indoor fire facilities using a custom pollution abatement system, enabling large, tightly controlled exposures.
- The effort, sponsored by the Fire Protection Research Foundation and the Property Insurance Research Group, shared preliminary findings at the 2025 NFPA conference, with a second test series scheduled for early 2026 to examine additional mitigation strategies.