Firefighters alarmed by latest rescue risk: solar panels

“We may very well not be able to save buildings that have alternative energy,” New Jersey’s Acting Fire Marshall William Kramer told The Star-Ledger.

In short the panels remain  charged (electrically) after building power is killed, they (in some installations) leave no room for the firefighter to operate on the roof, the weight can cause premature roof collapse as the fire burns through support beams below.

Outside of that story, which I’m delighted to bring to your attention, I’ve always doubted the cost benefits of these systems (no one ever mentions the lifespan of the panels, out there in the, you know, weather).  I hope anyone installing them, first spends the money on a life-time metal roofing system, because how the hell would you replace roofing shingles?

In my area, where the Sun tracks across the southern sky most of the year, placing those angled wind catchers to best track the Sun would also alight them to best rip your roof off during a Northeaster. As Jesus would say, “Leave those things that are of God to God and leave the roof to the pigeons”.   Or something like that.