House flooded then Tesla burns it to the ground.

[k1xv]

At this time I am thinking about adding solar, but have not pulled the trigger. I am on a time of day rate, with on peak being weekdays 1pm to 9 pm. I have always thought it would make more sense for me to pay for a solar installation in Arizona and they send me the money they save. The sun is awful low in the sky here in winter and days are short.

I have the perfect roof material for solar, standing seam metal. It has looked the same as the day it was installed 22 years ago. Many people with asphalt shingles need to put a new roof on their house before they cover it with solar panels.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I have the perfect roof material for solar, standing seam metal. It has looked the same as the day it was installed 22 years ago. Many people with asphalt shingles need to put a new roof on their house before they cover it with solar panels.

I got a package deal, solar + re-roof, even though my roof was about half life. Of course you don't wanna be pulling your panels, etc in a few years due to a roof repair.
In my case, I was preparing for retirement; the solar project was part of a plan to minimize recurring costs going forward. I am 100% happy with the project. You may have heard about our CA energy costs...

 

[Exhaustgases]

I would never want a solar panel on a roof, your asking for a fire.

 

[Torrid]

I'm definitely doing a metal roof next time around. The previous owners did the roof the last time with traditional shingles so it's only about 10 years old.

I would never want a solar panel on a roof, your asking for a fire.

I've literally never heard of that.

 

[demarpaint]

I would never want a solar panel on a roof, your asking for a fire.

Or leaks, bird nests, and squirrel nests in these parts. I know poor installation, yada, yada, if that's the case then 95%+ of them in my area were installed wrong. Oh and probably 95% of the installers are out of business in a year or so, so good luck getting a resolution to a problem.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Or leaks, bird nests, and squirrel nests in these parts. I know poor installation, yada, yada, if that's the case then 95%+ of them in my area were installed wrong. Oh and probably 95% of the installers are out of business in a year or so, so good luck getting a resolution to a problem.

In CA, NEM3 killed the little companies, like the one who I contracted with. If I had it to do over again, I would have went with Costco Sunrun. They were excellent. But 6+ years in, the project has exceeded my wildest expectations (and calculations). Sometimes you get lucky.

Gonna be 100* today; blast that AC!

 

[Vercingetorix]

I would never want a solar panel on a roof, your asking for a fire.

I would think in the case of forest fire, solar panels would help keep the embers off your roof, and the panels won’t burn.

 

[OVERKILL]

I'm definitely doing a metal roof next time around. The previous owners did the roof the last time with traditional shingles so it's only about 10 years old.


I've literally never heard of that.

It happens, though I think it's reasonably rare:

 

[OVERKILL]

At this time I am thinking about adding solar, but have not pulled the trigger. I am on a time of day rate, with on peak being weekdays 1pm to 9 pm. I have always thought it would make more sense for me to pay for a solar installation in Arizona and they send me the money they save. The sun is awful low in the sky here in winter and days are short.

I have the perfect roof material for solar, standing seam metal. It has looked the same as the day it was installed 22 years ago. Many people with asphalt shingles need to put a new roof on their house before they cover it with solar panels.

Yeah, we have the same problem up here, solar CF of less than 4% in December/January some years.

 

[JHZR2]

In the case of flooding, it is understandable how an electrical fire can occur and spread. Unfortunately, there are now far too many cases of fires that clearly originated in the cell itself.

I speculate that in our quest for ever more energy density, which by the way happened 20+ years ago, the chance of a cell internally shorting is increased. Dendrites grow and directly short out a cell. Components that are not perfectly manufactured can eventually touch and short out a cell, overheating remains a problem, and so on.

Thinner separators enable easier piercing if dendrites form… more energy density requires thicker coatings on the electrodes and thinner separators…

Internal shorts are a boogeyman that we need to be worried about.

But the OP is due to water ingress. We saw fires years ago due to coolant leaking on BMS boards in Chevy volts. We have learned more about the issues water brings on some maritime fires. Designs have become savvy to the risk, but it can show in so many different and odd ways.

And the funny thing is that huge amounts of water is about Al you can do to get heat out when they fail….

 

[JHZR2]

At the end of the day it's a battery getting wet with salt water. It's the outcome we'll get if the battery wasn't sealed properly. I think this is a quality control issue well more than an EV issue and I find it concerning.

With the amount of adhesive they use on all seams it shouldn't be happening.

It happens through the balancing circuits and other paths. It’s not just the battery in the clamshell…

 

[JHZR2]

Maybe that's why Tesla has problems. I know other manufacturers seal the pack. They may have catastrophic failure venting points, but they're sealed, not "valves".

That’s false. The cells are designed to rupture in some direction, and the modules and packs have rupture discs or valves that open at a certain pressure.

Otherwise you’re describing a bomb with its own ability to create oxygen.

IOW they’re generally sealed until an event causes them to release. And even with seals, there are still paths for coolant, electricity, controls, etc.

Ive seen robust battery designs go up because of reverse current paths and other funny things enabled by damage to the bms and control boards..

 

[Ws6]

That’s false. The cells are designed to rupture in some direction, and the modules and packs have rupture discs or valves that open at a certain pressure.

Otherwise you’re describing a bomb with its own ability to create oxygen.

IOW they’re generally sealed until an event causes them to release. And even with seals, there are still paths for coolant, electricity, controls, etc.

Ive seen robust battery designs go up because of reverse current paths and other funny things enabled by damage to the bms and control boards..

They may have failure points, but after any work is done, a vacuum is applied and a gauge used to ensure airtightness. No water is leaking into it from any "vent".

 

[andrew_j]

Would it claim auto or home owner insurance? I always wonder about the same thing in California if earthquake cause a gas leak then a house fire.

Claim on homeowners let them chase the auto insurance and sort it. Not your problem as you pay for car and home insurance to not worry.

I made a claim against homeowners for a car hitting my home. The car insurance paid in full to homeowners , no change in rate.

 

[JHZR2]

They may have failure points, but after any work is done, a vacuum is applied and a gauge used to ensure airtightness. No water is leaking into it from any "vent".

I don’t disagree - vent are not just a piece of open pipe to the atmosphere. Typically a low-psi disc is used to keep it “sealed”. How much force it takes to provide reverse ingress, especially in a flood where there could be some force inwards, is tbd.

Not sure they throw packs underwater to test that.

But as battery voltages increase, we are very cognizant of the potential effects of water exposure.

 

[alarmguy]

I think safe to say, no matter the venting technology, it doesnt always work as intended. Water gets in someplace, sometimes.

 

[Ws6]

I don’t disagree - vent are not just a piece of open pipe to the atmosphere. Typically a low-psi disc is used to keep it “sealed”. How much force it takes to provide reverse ingress, especially in a flood where there could be some force inwards, is tbd.

Not sure they throw packs underwater to test that.

But as battery voltages increase, we are very cognizant of the potential effects of water exposure.

Volvo did.



If a trash company like Volvo can do this, you can bet most can. Tesla is just on another level of QC fail, IMO.

 

[Torrid]

Volvo did.



If a trash company like Volvo can do this, you can bet most can. Tesla is just on another level of QC fail, IMO.

Wait, Volvo is a trash company? When did this happen?

 

[Ws6]

Wait, Volvo is a trash company? When did this happen?

When Geely took over.

 

[JHZR2]

Volvo did.



If a trash company like Volvo can do this, you can bet most can. Tesla is just on another level of QC fail, IMO.

Yet we see water-related battery fires even on ferries intended to operate in… water…

https://www.sdir.no/en/news/news-from-the-nma/supporting-preliminary-report-after-battery-incident/

As I said earlier, often it’s not just the battery itself. It is the HV boards or even balancing boards, contactors, etc.

Unless you have objective evidence that there was a specific design flaw, you’re speculating… either due to your hatred for Musk, or your hated for EVs, or something else. We see it all on here.

But water causing an issue is no surprise. We knew this with a fleet of Fisker EVs back during Hurricane Sandy. That was what, 11 years ago?!?

Should this sort of thing happen? No. Does it? Absolutely.

And that Chinese stunt? If the time of ingress is short, less opportunity for shorting paths to be created. I’m not impressed. Who knows how long the Tesla was under water.