Fire Protection Requirements and Solutions for the Implementation of BIPV on a High-Rise Residential Building in Frankfurt/Germany
Abstract
Especially for high-rise buildings with their limited roof areas, the activation of the façade with photovoltaics is an important opportunity to improve the energy efficiency of these buildings. With respect to a residential high rise building in Frankfurt, Germany, the research project PV-HoWoSan has been investigating the most important issues for installing photovoltaics in the façade from the point of view of the building owner: statics, fire protection, secure distribution of the generated electricity, Life-cycle assessment and economic efficiency. A major task in order to install the system at the building has been to go through the approval process. Since PV modules are usually not classified as non-flammable, the investigations focused especially on the aspect of fire protection. Therefore, a new façade system based on stainless steel material and several fire protection features has been designed. In order to get the required authority approvals, a system burning test was carried out at an official test facility. The paper deals with the experience of the design and approval process.