Are Solar Panels a Fire Risk? What the 2026 UK Data Shows

UK fire services attended 212 fires involving solar panels in 2025, up from 91 in 2022 — a 133% rise in three years, against installation growth of just 52% over the same period. The figures come from a Freedom of Information request by commercial insurer QBE, submitted to five UK fire services and compared against government installation statistics. They don't mean rooftop solar has become dangerous overnight, but they do mean the wiring and connectors going onto roofs haven't kept pace with how fast solar is being installed. Here's what the data actually shows, what's causing the fires, and how to keep a system safe.

What the QBE data shows

The fire count has climbed every year: 91 fires in 2022, 131 in 2023, 155 in 2024, and 212 in 2025. Most of the 2025 incidents — 102 — were at residential properties. A further 48 were at commercial buildings (up from 33 in 2024, a 46% rise), 14 at industrial sites (up from 6, a 133% rise) and 14 at solar farms. QBE also found that fires spreading beyond the solar installation itself — into the wider roof or building — nearly tripled, from 33 incidents in 2022 to 88 in 2025.

QBE risk manager Adrian Simmonds put it plainly: solar remains central to the UK's clean energy transition, but “safety and risk mitigation must be the priority” as deployment accelerates. The core concern isn't that solar is inherently unsafe — it's that fire rates are growing more than twice as fast as installation numbers, which points to a widening gap in installation quality rather than a problem with the technology itself.

What's actually causing the fires

DC cabling and connectors were the single leading cause in 2025, responsible for 49 fires — nearly double the 26 recorded in 2024. Solar panels themselves accounted for 36 fires, battery storage banks 23, and inverters 19. That pattern matches what electrical safety specialists have flagged for a while: most PV-originated fires start on the DC side of a system, where a poorly made or mismatched connector can sustain a sparking arc that a standard household circuit breaker won't detect or interrupt in time.

QBE's own assessment attributes the rise to faulty installations, substandard fittings, and poor electrical connections — in other words, workmanship rather than component failure. That tracks with the wider MCS standard for solar PV installation (MIS 3002), which sets specific requirements for DC isolation, cable routing and connector torque precisely because a badly terminated DC connector is one of the more common preventable fault types on a rooftop system. If you're seeing warning signs on an existing system, our guide to solar panel repairs and what's covered walks through the faults worth acting on quickly.

Should this put you off installing solar?

No — but it's a strong argument for not cutting corners on who installs it. Set against roughly 1.9 million UK homes with solar panels, 102 residential fires in a year is a small fraction of installed systems, and the majority of causes identified are things a competent, MCS-certified installer following current wiring regulations should catch: correctly rated and torqued DC connectors, proper cable routing away from insulation, and a working DC isolator. The honest read of the QBE data is that quality control hasn't scaled with demand — not that solar panels are becoming inherently more dangerous. For the wider cost-benefit picture, see our guide to whether solar panels are worth it in the UK.

How to protect your home

Most of the risk sits at the installation stage, so the checks that matter most happen before a single panel goes on the roof.

• Use an MCS-certified installer. MCS certification means the installer is assessed against the current PV installation standard, including DC isolation and connector requirements. See our guide to what MCS certification actually covers and how to choose a solar installer beyond MCS alone.
• Ask about DC connector compatibility. Mismatched connector brands from different manufacturers are a known cause of poor connections. A competent installer will use matched, correctly torqued connectors throughout the string, not mix-and-match parts.
• Get annual inspections, not just a one-off install. QBE specifically recommends yearly checks, particularly after extreme weather, when connectors can loosen or seals degrade. Our solar panel maintenance guide covers what an annual check should include and what it typically costs.
• Check your DC isolator and firefighter's switch are accessible. A clearly labelled, reachable isolator lets a system be shut down quickly in an emergency, which both reduces risk and helps the fire service if the worst happens.
• Site battery storage in a ventilated, unobstructed space. Battery banks were the third most common fire source in the QBE data; keeping them clear of combustible material and away from escape routes is a standard precaution most installers will already follow.
• Confirm your home insurance is aware of the installation. Most insurers expect solar to be professionally installed and MCS-certified as a condition of cover. See our guide to solar panels and home insurance for what your policy needs to reflect.

If your system was installed some years ago, particularly by a since-deregistered installer, it's worth booking an inspection even if nothing seems wrong — a loose DC connector rarely announces itself before it fails.

Battery banks were the third most common cause in the QBE dataset above. For the fuller picture on battery-specific fire data, chemistry, and the 2026 placement rules, see our guide to whether home batteries are a fire risk.