Sunshine Coast woman Kathy Sundstrom was at the local beach with her husband when her teenage daughter called to report there was smoke pouring out of their solar energy system.

"We were like, 'Oh you know, it'll be all right.' We were enjoying the beach. We hadn't seen the sun for so long," Ms Sundstrom said.

When the Sundstrom's older son called moments later, they knew the situation might be more serious.

"He was a little bit more panicky and he said, 'Should we call the firies?'"

"Even though we'd turned off the main power supply and with the isolator switch, the solar apparently keeps generating on your roof, which is how many solar fires tend to start."

Ms Sundstrom says she hates to think what could have happened if her family had not been home at the time and her children had not noticed smoke pouring out of the isolator box on the side of their home.

The firefighters who attended the incident explained to the family that the recent wet weather had allowed water to get into the isolator box.

She said the box was located underneath a roof next to the main power box.

"It's got a covering, it's not just some open box.

"They said if they hadn't come it could have been a whole lot worse because turning it off [at the mains] doesn't stop the electricity from being produced on the roof," Ms Sundstrom said.

Roof top power plant

Jock Howard, a Sunshine Coast solar business owner who has worked in the industry since 1987, says wet weather can affect solar system isolators.

Mr Howard said weeks of rain could result in water seeping into cracks and bad joins, building up to a point where it could reach the system's isolator, causing it to spark and burn.

"If you've got water in your isolator box, you set up basically an electrical reaction using the water as a conductor between the positive and the negative," he said.

As these wires corrode they can break and create a spark and the plastic parts burn. 

Mr Howard said the best way to prevent a fire from a solar system was to have it checked regularly.

"You've got a power station on your house, it's quite literally a generator and it's generating useful amounts of energy and that energy can cause fires," he said.

"The older it gets the more you have to maintain it," he said.

Mr Howard said once a system got to 10 years old, it should be checked every year.

Get your solar checked

The electrical safety office said there were 50 fires initially reported in solar installations in 2020, 79 in 2021 and 22 so far in 2022.

The Director of Equipment Safety and Licensing at the Electrical Safety Office, Brian Richards, said there needed to be more awareness from home owners of their solar systems' maintenance schedule.

"Installations do need maintenance, you need to get your system checked out," he said.

"Get a licensed electrician that is experienced in solar installations to check your system on a regular basis," he said.

"They will be able to work out a maintenance regime for you that is suitable for your system and will give you piece of mind."