Firefighters were called to Bar Beach on Wednesday morning in the latest in a rising number of solar panel incidents.
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Fire crews managed to take care of the issue before any structural damage was caused to the home.
The incident follows a solar panel isolation switch catching fire on the roof of a New Lambton home in October. This came after a blaze at Maryland in August which started after a short circuit in a solar power box.
Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Scott Dodson said a research unit was working together with the Department of Fair Trading to look into the cause of solar panel fires with studies underway.
He said there had been a rise in the number of people installing solar panels, causing an increase in related fires.
Data from the Australian Government's Clean Energy Regulator shows that the number of registered small scale solar panels installed across greater Newcastle between January and November was 3491, up from 2971 in the same period last year.
Superintendent Dodson said researchers were looking into how weather resistant solar paneling is.
"There seems to be a trend in the wet and on humid days," he said.
He said a big concern with solar panel fires was that they could break out without the people inside the home knowing.
"The fire can become advanced before we get notified of it," Superintendent Dodson said.
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IN THE NEWS:
Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
