PV Façades > 30 m - Fire Prevention Guidelines on High-Rise Buildings

PV façade installations at existing or new high-rise buildings are challenging in many ways. One of the challenges is that façade elements of PV modules still do not meet the Swiss fire protection requirements. This constitutes a particular threat in case of fire on high-rise buildings. Hence, implementation projects of tall PV façades at existing or new high-rise buildings are not approved by building insurance companies. To remedy this gap, fire prevention guidelines for PV façades > 30 m were developed. The pioneering project was initiated by the state insurance company of Bern («Gebäudeversicherung Bern», GVB), FAMBAU housing cooperative and PV expert Muntwyler. The work was carried out jointly with an interdisciplinary team of fire protection experts, PV façade and PV system experts, and specialists on electrical engineering in Switzerland. The fire prevention goals in the guidelines, to be met by means of structural and constructive measures, were tested on tall PV façades on a 70 m tower in Bern-West. The PV façades on this high-rise building also served as a demonstrator, and now offer an opportunity for the quality-control of the installed PV façades over their entire lifetime, including regular inspection with IR-drones.