Design Specifications for Fire Protection Systems in Energy Storage Stations

What are the fire and building codes for energy storage systems?

However, many designers and installers, especially those new to energy storage systems, are unfamiliar with the fire and building codes pertaining to battery installations. Another code-making body is the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Some states adopt the NFPA 1 Fire Code rather than the IFC.

What are fire codes & standards?

Fire codes and standards inform energy storage system design and installation and serve as a backstop to protect homes, families, commercial facilities, and personnel, including our solar-plus-storage businesses. It is crucial to understand which codes and standards apply to any given project, as well as why they were put in place to begin with.

Do energy storage systems need fire protection?

This is typically implemented using safety devices and controlling the operating conditions and environment. To date there is no publicly available test data that confirms the effectiveness of any active fire protection for energy storage systems, and there are no fire protection systems FM Approved for this application.

What NFPA standards should a fire protection system follow?

All fire protection features should be inspected, tested, and maintained according to applicable NFPA standards and vendor recommendations. Fire alarm and gas detector (if installed) ITM should follow recommendations provided in NFPA 72. All water-based fire protection systems ITM should follow recommendations provided in NFPA 25.

Does active fire protection work for energy storage systems?

To date there is no publicly available test data that confirms the effectiveness of any active fire protection for energy storage systems, and there are no fire protection systems FM Approved for this application. The ability of active fire protection to stop or prevent Li-ion battery thermal runaway reactions has not been shown.

What is a safety standard for stationary batteries?

Safety standard for stationary batteries for energy storage applications, non-chemistry specific and includes electrochemical capacitor systems or hybrid electrochemical capacitor and battery systems. Includes requirements for unique technologies such as flow batteries and sodium beta (i.e., sodium sulfur and sodium nickel chloride).