Dry Season Could Trigger Solar System Fires Across Nigeria – Expert Cautions

As Nigeria steps into the 2025 dry season, experts have warned that while solar-energy users are expected to enjoy peak power generation, the same sunshine could ignite disaster if safety standards are ignored.

According to an expert and solar analyst, Yakubu Yinusa, with higher temperatures, clearer skies, and longer daylight hours, solar panels will deliver more energy.

He cautioned, however, that “poor installations, unverified components, and a widespread lack of maintenance culture among Nigerians have always been responsible for overheating and potential fire hazards”

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), in its 2025 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP), projected “hotter-than-average conditions across most regions, with daytime temperatures expected to range from 36 °C to 41 °C in the North and 32 °C to 37 °C in the South.”

“While this means abundant solar generation, it also exposes weaknesses in poorly designed or neglected systems. Without proper ventilation, protective devices, and quality components, excessive heat can cause electrical stress and damage to sensitive equipment,” he added.

“The dry season is both a blessing and a threat,” said Yunusa.

“Without good maintenance, temperature control, and verified equipment, what powers your home today could become a safety risk tomorrow.”

In recent years, videos have surfaced across social media showing solar installations and rooftops catching fire in different parts of Nigeria.

Many of these incidents were traced to poor wiring, undersized cables, faulty charge controllers, substandard batteries, and the total absence of routine maintenance.

Such preventable incidents highlight the dangers of weak maintenance culture and the growing circulation of unverified solar products

“Majority of us Nigerians lack maintenance culture,” Yunusa observed. “We often wait until something fails before we act. But in solar systems, prevention saves both money and lives. These fire incidents didn’t just happen; they’re the result of neglect, poor supervision, and unsafe components.”

“Some customers still expect installers to come back for free maintenance,” Yunusa explained.

“That’s not how it works. Warranty is different from maintenance. A warranty covers defects — it doesn’t include cleaning panels, tightening terminals, or replacing worn cables.”

Speaking from experience, Yunusa noted: “As someone who has lighted up over 300 homes and businesses across Nigeria, I can confirm many clients do not understand this difference. At LightUpSolar Advocacy, we continue to educate users. For safety reasons, we visit clients periodically to perform maintenance — often without compensation — because we see it as community service and advocacy, not a mandatory duty.”

He also highlighted another major cause of solar failures: “We rely on quality products available in the market, but sometimes homeowners reject the quoted cost for certified components and instead buy cheaper items online or from local vendors.”

“There are quacks in every industry, but most professionals follow standards. We should focus on enforcement, not accusation.”

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has warned against the “influx of substandard electrical and renewable-energy components in Nigerian markets,” stressing that such products “pose serious fire, safety, and economic risks to consumers.”

Common issues include low-grade solar panels that degrade quickly under heat and dust, inaccurate charge controllers, hybrid inverters lacking surge protection, and unreliable battery-management systems (BMS).

These problems are worsened by unqualified installations, undersized cabling, and missing protective devices such as breakers, MCCBs, SPDs, and AVRs.

Another concern is homeowners using batteries already due for replacement. (SaharaReporters)