Solar PV installs combine working at height, live DC conductors that cannot be switched off in daylight, heavy inverter lifts, AC tie-in to the consumer unit, DNO notification under G98 or G99, and — increasingly — adjacent battery storage. This guide explains every hazard category, the BS 7671 and CDM duties behind them, and exactly what a credible Risk Assessment and Method Statement must contain before scaffold goes up.
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Written and reviewed by Andrew Moore, founder of Elec-Mate, against BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, IET Guidance Note 3 and the IET On-Site Guide.
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A standard "electrical work" Risk Assessment and Method Statement is built around safe isolation, lock-off, and proving dead before work — the discipline that underpins the safe isolation method statement. Solar PV breaks one of those assumptions on day one: a photovoltaic module exposed to daylight produces voltage continuously, and that voltage cannot be switched off. The only way to bring a DC string near zero is to physically cover the panels or wait for darkness — neither is a control measure you can sensibly write into a domestic installation plan.
On top of that, every solar PV install combines four hazard families in a single short visit:
Opening the DC isolator at the inverter end disconnects the inverter from the array — it does not disconnect the panels from each other. The string between the panels and the isolator remains at full open-circuit voltage (typically 350–600 V DC for a domestic string) whenever daylight is on the modules. Treat the DC cabling as live for the duration of the works.
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The hazard register below maps the dominant risks on a UK domestic or small-commercial solar PV install to the corresponding control measure. A working RAMS will list each one with a residual-risk score, the responsible person, and the evidence that the control has been applied.
A solar PV RAMS that doesn't name the right legislation and standards is worth nothing in a post-incident HSE interview. The minimum reference list for a UK install is below — the RAMS narrative should anchor each control measure to one of these.
Connecting a PV installation to the grid is not a free action — the Distribution Network Operator has to know about it. The RAMS must reference which Engineering Recommendation applies and what notification step has been completed before the inverter is energised.
Both G98 and G99 require inverters that include anti-islanding protection (loss-of-mains detection). If the grid drops, the inverter must disconnect within the regulator-defined time so it can't energise a dead grid that linesmen believe to be safe. The RAMS commissioning section should record the anti-islanding test result, not just "inverter switched on".
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A credible PV method statement reads as a sequence — what happens first, who does it, what evidence is generated, what triggers a stop. It is not a generic "we will work safely" paragraph. The sequence below is the minimum framework; tailor it to the specific site, install size and presence of battery storage.
Where the design includes battery energy storage — increasingly the norm rather than the exception — the RAMS must be expanded to recognise that a lithium battery installation is not "just another piece of electrical kit". The IET Code of Practice for Electrical Energy Storage Systems sets the benchmark and the RAMS should map each of its key requirements onto a control measure.
A lithium battery in thermal runaway gives warning — swelling, hissing, electrolyte odour, rising case temperature — before the event becomes uncontrolled. The customer brief in the RAMS must include "what to look for and what to do" so the homeowner doesn't open the enclosure to investigate.
A solar PV install generates documentary outputs that have to line up with the RAMS — if the method statement says "DC insulation resistance recorded at commissioning", the certificate must contain those readings. Under BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 the certification path is:
Before Amendment 4, an export-capable PV install was certified on the same EIC form as any other circuit. From 2026, the EIC has a dedicated Prosumer Low-Voltage Installation line that recognises the installation as a generator as well as a consumer. The RAMS inspection step should reference 14.0 explicitly so the office knows which model form to issue.
Six steps from blank page to signed-off Solar PV RAMS — the same sequence used by the in-app generator.
Elec-Mate's RAMS Generator pre-loads the Section 712, CDM 2015 and WAHR 2005 references for solar PV, plus the standard hazard register. You start from a credible baseline rather than a blank page.
Specify scaffold, MEWP or harness-and-anchor; record the daily inspection regime; capture the wind-speed stop-work threshold for module handling versus general roof work.
State that DC strings are treated as live throughout; that MC4 mating happens only with the string open at the isolator; that no live disconnection under load is permitted.
Record the DNO reference, the engineering recommendation that applies, and (for G99) the witness-test date. The RAMS cannot end with "energise inverter" if the DNO step is missing.
If the design includes battery storage, append the IET CoP for EES checklist — siting, ventilation, isolation, manual handling, customer brief on thermal-runaway warning signs.
Reference the Electrical Installation Certificate (including the new item 14.0 Prosumer LV) and the dedicated Solar PV commissioning record. The customer handover pack should be itemised in the RAMS.
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Elec-Mate's RAMS Generator drops a Section 712-aligned solar PV method statement onto the job in minutes — full hazard register, work-at-height controls, G98/G99 step, battery-storage section where you need it, and a direct link to the Solar PV Certificate so the install pack stays consistent end-to-end. 7-day free trial, cancel anytime.
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