Commercial rooftop solar offers major benefits, but it also creates electrical, fire, workplace and insurance risks. Learn where the responsibility gaps appear and what building owners, tenants, developers and insurers should ask.

Solar PV has become an essential part of South Africa’s energy landscape. For warehouses, factories, hospitals, schools, shopping centres and offices, rooftop solar can reduce electricity costs, improve operational resilience and limit the effects of load-shedding.

These benefits are real. But so are the risks.

The concern is not that every solar installation will experience a fire. The concern is that when an installation is designed, installed and operated, the responsibilities are often divided between several different parties — and nobody examines whether all those responsibilities connect properly.

The structural engineer assesses whether the roof can carry the system. The EPC designs and installs the electrical system. The solar developer focuses on energy generation and contract performance. The fire consultant considers the building’s fire strategy. The facilities team manages day-to-day operations. The insurer covers selected assets and losses.

Each party may perform its own task correctly.

The gap appears between them.

A solar system does not end at the panels

A rooftop PV installation includes far more than the visible solar modules. It can include:

• Hundreds or thousands of DC connectors.
• Long cable routes across and through the roof.
• DC isolators and combiner boxes.
• Inverters and distribution equipment.
• Roof penetrations and cable entry points.
• Monitoring and communications equipment.
• Batteries, where energy storage is included.
• Maintenance and access areas.
• Interfaces with existing building services.

The PV modules also continue generating electricity while exposed to sufficient light. Switching off the building’s main electrical supply does not necessarily remove the voltage from the modules and DC conductors. International firefighter guidance specifically warns that PV conductors may remain energised after the building has been disconnected from the grid.

This changes how the installation must be approached during maintenance, a fault, an emergency or a fire.

Compliance is necessary — but compliance is not complete preparedness

A compliant electrical installation and valid documentation remain essential. The Electrical Installation Regulations govern the construction, testing, inspection and certification of electrical installations in South Africa.

Building fire protection must also be considered. SANS 10400-T:2024 provides deemed-to-satisfy requirements for compliance with Part T of the National Building Regulations relating to fire protection.

However, a Certificate of Compliance, structural report and conventional building fire plan do not automatically answer questions such as:

• Can the PV system be safely isolated during an emergency?
• Which conductors remain live?
• Are DC cable routes identified?
• Can emergency responders access the roof safely?
• Are there safe walkways and no-cut zones?
• What happens if arcing or burning material penetrates the roof?
• Does the evacuation plan consider a PV-related incident?
• Who has authority to demand that the system be shut down?
• How are defects, near incidents and repeated failures recorded?
• Has the insurer been informed of the complete risk?

This is the difference between having documents and having a coordinated, functioning risk-management system.

The building, the PV plant and the business inside may belong to different parties

Many commercial installations operate under power purchase agreements or roof-rental structures.

The building may belong to a property company or landlord. A tenant may operate the warehouse and own the stock inside it. A third-party developer may own the PV installation. An EPC may have installed it, while a separate operations and maintenance provider looks after it.

One incident can therefore affect:

• The developer’s solar asset.
• The landlord’s building.
• The tenant’s stock and equipment.
• Employees and contractors.
• Customer-owned goods.
• Business income and contractual commitments.
• Rental income.
• Neighbouring property.
• Emergency responders.

The fact that the developer insures the PV plant does not mean the warehouse stock, building damage or tenant’s business interruption is automatically covered.

Similarly, the fact that the landlord insures the building does not necessarily protect the tenant’s stock, lost production or loss of income.

These responsibilities must be examined before an incident, not debated afterwards.

Fire behaviour can extend beyond the roof

There is sometimes an assumption that a PV-related incident will remain above a corrugated metal roof. That should not be assumed.

The actual outcome depends on the roof build-up, insulation, waterproofing, penetrations, cable routes, fire load and the materials stored below.

Combustible insulation and bituminous waterproofing can contribute to fire spread. Arcing, molten material or burning debris may penetrate vulnerable areas or cable openings. In warehouses, goods are frequently stored in cardboard packaging and may be stacked close to roof level.

A fire may therefore begin or spread in an area that is difficult to see from ground level.

Sprinklers remain an essential part of warehouse fire protection and can help control internal fires. But sprinklers do not de-energise a PV system or remove the DC electrical hazard. Even where fire suppression succeeds, smoke and water damage can cause severe losses to stock, machinery and operations.

The financial loss may therefore extend far beyond the replacement value of the solar panels.

Operations and maintenance must mean more than panel cleaning

Cleaning is important for performance, but cleaning alone is not a complete operations and maintenance programme.

A meaningful O&M process should address:

• Connector and termination condition.
• Cable support, routing and mechanical damage.
• Inverters, isolators and combiner equipment.
• Water ingress and corrosion.
• Thermal anomalies and hot connections.
• Alarm and monitoring history.
• Defect correction.
• Previous failures and repeated fault patterns.
• Roof access and contractor controls.
• Emergency shutdown procedures.
• Inspection and maintenance evidence.

International O&M guidance emphasises regular inspection and preventive maintenance as part of managing PV performance and reliability.

Near incidents are particularly important.

A connector that overheated but did not ignite, an inverter fault that repeatedly resets, damaged cable insulation or a failed isolator should not simply be repaired and forgotten. The fault must be recorded, investigated and reviewed to determine whether it is an isolated problem or evidence of a wider system failure.

After a serious incident, insurers and investigators will ask what was known, when it was known, what was reported and what corrective action was taken.

Maintenance records tell that story.

The occupational health and safety exposure is not limited to solar technicians

Many people may access a commercial roof during the life of a PV installation:

• Panel cleaners.
• HVAC technicians.
• Roofing and waterproofing contractors.
• Telecommunications installers.
• Security-system technicians.
• Facilities personnel.
• Inspectors.
• Emergency responders.

These workers may understand their own trade but may not understand live PV DC hazards.

They need to know where they can walk, where cables are routed, what must not be disconnected, where drilling or cutting is prohibited and what to do if damaged equipment is found.

Working at height adds another major risk. Contractor insurance or Compensation Fund registration does not replace the responsibility to ensure that competent people are appointed, inducted, supervised and provided with a safe working environment.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act requires employers to provide and maintain, as far as reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risk to employees. It also protects people other than employees who may be affected by workplace activities.

Guidance from the Department of Employment and Labour also confirms that the chief executive officer must ensure that the employer’s duties under the Act are properly discharged.

The presence of an external contractor does not mean that the building owner, tenant or person controlling the workplace can ignore unsafe conditions.

Fire consultants are essential — but PV knowledge must be specifically included

Fire consultants and fire engineers have an important role in assessing:

• Fire spread and compartmentation.
• Detection and suppression.
• Access and egress.
• Firefighter access.
• Evacuation.
• Building fire strategy.
• Compliance with applicable fire requirements.

But a conventional fire appointment may not automatically include specialist assessment of live DC behaviour, module-level hazards, cable routing, PV isolation limitations or emergency de-energisation.

Building owners should therefore ask directly:

Does the appointed fire consultant understand rooftop PV and DC fire behaviour, or are they working with a specialist who does?

The same applies to electrical and structural engineers. A structural engineer may confirm that the roof can support the system, but that does not mean the fire, evacuation, maintenance and insurance interfaces have been assessed.

No single profession should be expected to manage the complete PV risk alone.

Early detection can change the outcome

Early detection is one of the most important opportunities to prevent a fault from becoming a major loss.

Depending on the site and risk profile, possible measures may include:

• System monitoring and alarm escalation.
• Planned thermographic inspections.
• Linear heat detection.
• Heat or smoke-detection cameras.
• AI-assisted video analytics.
• DC fault and insulation monitoring.
• Clearly defined escalation procedures.
• Authority to shut down or de-energise an unsafe installation.

Early detection only helps when somebody receives the warning, understands it and has authority to act.

A sophisticated alarm that is ignored or repeatedly reset does not reduce risk.

Recent events show why precautionary action matters

In June 2026, Suffolk County Council in the United Kingdom announced that it would temporarily switch off solar systems at identified schools after several school fires in which rooftop solar installations were considered a potential factor. The precautionary programme reportedly affected approximately 80 schools while investigations and inspections continued.

This does not prove that every school solar system is dangerous. It demonstrates something more important: where uncertainty exists and vulnerable occupants are involved, responsible organisations may need to isolate systems, investigate the cause and verify safety before returning them to service.

Preparedness includes having the technical and contractual ability to make that decision.

Questions every building owner and tenant should ask

Before accepting that a rooftop system is “safe”, ask:

• Who owns the system?
• Who is responsible for its safety and maintenance?
• Has an independent PV risk assessment been completed?
• Are DC routes and isolation points clearly mapped?
• Who can demand that the system be shut down?
• Are maintenance and thermal-inspection records available?
• Are near incidents and defects formally recorded?
• Have staff, safety representatives and fire wardens received PV training?
• Does the evacuation plan address a PV-related incident?
• Can contractors access the roof safely?
• Has the insurer been informed?
• Are the building, stock and business-interruption exposures adequately insured?
• Does the developer’s liability cover extend beyond replacing the PV equipment?
• Can the organisation prove that reasonable precautions were taken?

When these questions cannot be answered, the organisation has identified a gap.

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Assess your current level of PV preparedness

LTV Technologies & Supplies has developed an online PV Risk Assessment calculator to help organisations begin identifying possible gaps in their current rooftop PV safety and readiness arrangements.

The calculator is an awareness and screening tool. It does not replace a site inspection, electrical certification, structural assessment, fire-engineering review or professional insurance advice. Its purpose is to help owners, tenants, facilities teams and safety representatives understand which questions they should be asking.

The full downloadable Commercial Rooftop Solar PV Risk and Safety Guide can also be made available below.

References

1. Department of Employment and Labour — Electrical Installation Regulations, 2009
   Relevant to responsibility, safe use, maintenance, electrical work and Certificates of Compliance.
2. Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993
   Relevant to employer duties, safe workplaces, employee safety and risks to people other than employees.
3. Construction Regulations, 2014
   Relevant where applicable to construction work, working at height, contractor competency, risk assessments and health-and-safety plans.
4. SANS 10400-T:2024 — Fire Protection
   Relevant to building fire-protection requirements and fire-safety design.
5. IEA PVPS — Photovoltaics and Firefighters’ Operations
   Relevant to energised PV conductors, firefighter hazards and emergency response.
6. IEA PVPS — Operation and Maintenance Guidelines for PV Systems
   Relevant to inspection, preventive maintenance, performance, documentation and fault management.
7. SolarPower Europe / SAPVIA — South African O&M Best Practice Guidelines
   Relevant to O&M responsibilities, insurance considerations, recordkeeping and division-of-responsibility arrangements.
8. GreenCape — Rooftop Rental Agreements as a Green Finance Mechanism
   Relevant to South African rooftop-rental and PPA structures.