Photovoltaics and fire safety: the two-yearly check introduced by DCPREV 14030/2025

What is new

With note DCPREV 14030 of 1 September 2025, the Italian National Fire Brigade published its fire prevention guideline for the design, installation, operation and maintenance of photovoltaic systems, updating the technical framework for systems installed on, or interfering with, premises subject to fire prevention controls.

The change with the greatest operational impact is the introduction of a documented periodic check at least every two years for the fire risk assessment of the system, to be repeated also whenever the system is transformed, modified or extended.

What the check involves

Aspect	Content
Interval	At least every two years, plus after any transformation, modification or extension of the system
Technical references	Checks according to the applicable CEI standards, including thermographic inspection to IEC TS 62446-3 where required
Scope	Photovoltaic systems installed on, or interfering with, premises subject to Fire Brigade control
Documentation	Recording of maintenance and control activities in the fire safety control register (Ministerial Decree of 1 September 2021)

Why thermography is the central tool

A photovoltaic system carries direct current even when disconnected from the grid and has tens of thousands of connections: it is precisely at degraded contact points that ignition risk concentrates. Infrared inspection makes it possible to detect hot spots — abnormal overheating indicating installation defects, material degradation, damaged cells, failed bypass diodes or loose connections — before they develop into the start of a fire.

IEC TS 62446-3 sets out the criteria for carrying out the inspection correctly: minimum irradiance conditions, shooting distances and angles, thermal camera requirements and criteria for classifying the anomalies found. An inspection carried out without meeting these requirements can lead to false negatives, that is, real defects that do not show up in the thermal image.

What companies need to do

• Check whether the activity is subject to fire prevention controls and whether the photovoltaic system is installed on it or interferes with it;
• Schedule the two-yearly check, including it in the system's maintenance plan rather than treating it as an isolated task;
• Record the results in the fire safety control register, together with the other periodic checks on the premises;
• Act on the anomalies found, with traceable corrective work and subsequent verification of effectiveness;
• Repeat the check after any modification or extension, even if the two years have not yet elapsed.

An obligation that fits with the others

The two-yearly fire safety check on photovoltaics does not stand alone: it sits alongside the earthing system inspections required by Presidential Decree 462/01, the fire prevention obligations of the premises and, more generally, the management of company safety documentation. Entrusting these checks to a single technical point of contact makes it possible to align deadlines, registers and corrective actions, reducing the risk of oversights.

How we support companies

Stefano Luise Engineering S.r.l. carries out two-yearly fire safety checks and thermographic inspections of photovoltaic systems under DCPREV 14030/2025 and IEC TS 62446-3, with photographic and thermographic reports, classification of anomalies by criticality and support in recording the results and planning the corrective work.

Regulatory references

Note DCPREV no. 14030 of 01/09/2025  •  IEC TS 62446-3  •  Italian Ministerial Decree of 1 September 2021  •  Applicable CEI standards  •  Presidential Decree 151/2011  •  Legislative Decree 81/2008

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