Heat-Responsive Solar Panel Skirts for Roof Fire Blocking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Solar panel installations on roofs pose challenges to maintaining fire resistance ratings due to additional weight, penetrations, and heat, necessitating innovative solutions to prevent the spread of fire and meet stringent fire codes.
Innovation Solution
A fire blocking apparatus for solar panels with heat-sensitive materials and adjustable skirt structures that alter their angle upon exposure to heat, effectively blocking gaps between the panels and the roof surface to prevent fire spread, combined with mounting systems that redirect flames and provide ventilation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If solar panels are installed on roofs, then energy generation capability is improved, but fire resistance rating deteriorates due to gaps allowing fire spread
Solution Approach 1:
A fire skirt is introduced as an intermediary component between the solar panel and the roof. The fire skirt extends down from the solar panel edge and blocks the gap between the panel and roof surface, preventing fire spread while allowing the solar panel to maintain its energy generation function.
Solution Approach 2:
The fire protection system is segmented into multiple fire skirts, each positioned at specific edges of the solar panel. This segmentation allows targeted fire blocking at critical gaps while maintaining the overall functionality of the solar panel installation.
2Reliability
If fire blocking structures are added to solar panel installations, then fire resistance rating is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fire skirt is designed as a thin, flexible barrier that can be easily installed along the edges of solar panels. This thin-film approach provides effective fire blocking without adding significant structural complexity or weight to the solar panel installation system.
3Reliability
If gaps between solar panels and roof are reduced, then fire resistance is improved, but installation difficulty increases due to precise positioning requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The fire skirt serves as a mediator that compensates for installation tolerances. Rather than requiring precise positioning to minimize gaps, the fire skirt is installed to cover the gap area, allowing for more flexible and easier installation while maintaining fire resistance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances fire resistance of roofs by blocking flames and heat, maintaining fire ratings, and preventing the spread of fire across the roof surface, while also ensuring efficient solar panel operation and installation on both flat and tilted roofs.
Implementation Method 1
The first edge coupling joint can include a heat or fire sensitive material configured to melt, deform, or warp at the predetermined temperature to alter the first angle relative to the solar panel
Implementation Method 2
a heat or fire sensitive material configured to melt, deform, or warp at the predetermined temperature
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present invention are directed towards fire blocking apparatuses that include fire skirts that extend off edges of solar panels installed on roofs. The fire skirts are configured to block the gap between a solar panel and the roof surface on which it is installed to prevent or suppress the ignition for spreading of fire underneath the solar panel. Some of the fire skirts are heat or fire sensitive and are configured to the melt, deform, or otherwise be altered upon the application of a threshold temperature such that the fire skirts block the gap between the solar panel and the roof surface. Other embodiments are directed towards fire skirts that include a solar panel mounting surface and a shelf surface configured to accommodate ballast or fasteners to affix the solar panel to the roof surface. Such embodiments can be formed from pre-scored or pre-folded sheet materials.