Abstract
The growth of photovoltaic (PV) technology in a
global context is evident due to a drop in costs. In Africa,
there is potential for expansive growth of solar PV due to
favourable climatological conditions. PV systems, due to their
inherent exposure to the elements, are prone to damage caused
by lightning. For small- to medium-scale rooftop PV systems in
particular, there is currently no well-defined methodology for
assessing risk of lightning damage and determining protection
requirements. In this paper, a framework for risk assessment of
rooftop PV systems is proposed. The framework is applied to
two practical case studies. It is found that the larger a rooftop
PV system is, the higher the contribution of the PV system to the
overall risk of lightning damage to the structure. These findings
will lead to the further development of PV standards where
in both the African and global context, continuous knowledge
production in this regard is necessary.