This report summarizes the contributions made during 2020 towards developing criteria and methods for evaluating the fire safety of photovoltaic (PV) systems. The focus is on three main areas: photovoltaic roofs (PV roofs), PV systems with Rapid Shutdown Systems (RSS), and non-destructive diagnostics of PV modules. These efforts continue the work supporting the development of national and international technical standards, particularly in areas overseen by CEI CT 82 “Photovoltaic Energy Conversion Systems,” CEN TC 127 “Fire Safety in Buildings,” and CENELEC TC 82 “Solar Photovoltaic Energy Systems.”

The first section of the report focuses on the fire behavior of PV roofs, specifically those consisting of BAPV (Building Applied Photovoltaics) modules installed on building roofs. It details the test protocols developed and the classification criteria. This work has been formalized in a CEI Technical Report (TR), which is scheduled for publication in 2021. The summary in this report reflects the final version of the work, including contributions made in 2020 that completed previous efforts. Specifically, the 2020 contributions were primarily in the “editing” phase (i.e., preparation of the final version of the TR), while the development of test protocols and classification methods was completed in earlier years.

The next section summarizes the work on PV systems equipped with RSS, particularly PV façade systems for buildings with these systems. This section covers an experimental campaign to verify the operation of these systems and their impact on fire safety, continuing the initial phase conducted under WP5 – Activity Line 5.4 (2019) of Project 2.2. This contribution focuses on façades, given that the necessary fire safety measures for electrically passive façade samples are already covered by existing standards for conventional building façades (non-PV), such as ISO 13785-1,-2, BS 8414-1,-2, DIN 4102-20.

The final section addresses non-destructive diagnostics of PV modules, specifically measurements of certain properties of the backsheet and front glass of various samples, both intact and degraded. This work aims to develop diagnostic techniques that can identify defects or degradation states that increase fire risk and potentially contribute to the creation of thermal models for PV modules.