No need for this, just a requirement for a bunded reinforced seperate building at the side of the house for battery storage. Keep it well way from the main dwelling and there's no need for a separate wiring standard.

That would mean that a lot of people wouldn't be able to have it though. Not everyone has the space for a separate building. I have seen a couple locally where the batteries has been put in the roof space. I only know that as i was asked to install a mains linked smoke detector in there so i presume that is already a requirement.

Gary

whjohnson said:

no need for a separate wiring standard.

It's not a "wiring standard". BS 7671 is referred to as the main electrical installation standard.

Worth a read as to what the draft provides for.

aligarjon said:

I have seen a couple locally where the batteries has been put in the roof space.

Some I've seen, are actually just monobloc batteries (equivalent to a car battery, perhaps with shrouded connectors, but all the same ...)  placed in the loft or on the floor of a garage, with a simple gG-type fuse carrier on the wall under the inverter (no real adequate overcurrent protection within the "free to move" monoblocs close by).

Just imagine an inquisitive child opening a gG fuseholder on-load (and drawing a beautiful DC arc), for example.

To be fair the ones i have seen were in big metal cabinets so looked a pretty good install.

I don't think the take-up of such will become mainstream any time soon, the costs are too high for most folk. Same with EVs, whose market is now stalling as the chickens come home to roost.

Might not be an option. With the latest update to the SAP calcs, we're finding some residential developments require storage alongside the PV array to get a satisfactory result. At least the cost occurs during the construction and can/should be accounted for by developers (albeit this will undoubtedly be passed on in house prices) but ongoing maintenance and replacement will be another 'new technology' for homeowners to wrestle with. Main struggle is getting adequately sized utility spaces within the dwellings to house everything.
As for EV uptake, our hands will be forced eventually unless we give up driving for public transport.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Hopefully I'll get a chance to review.

I've not read it in any detail yet but, since this is a new standard, is there some form of commentary providing justification for the various requirements? I expect most things will be obvious in intent but it might save "reverse engineering" the thinking and help contributions be more constructive.

Are you aware of a commercial / industrial equivalent in the offing?

Graham,

Thank you for the heads-up.

So now I am left wondering about 2 things.

(1) Upgrading my fire alarms - TBH, it should have been done years ago, so perhaps it is not as relevant as it seems.

(2) Whether the battery would be better in the loft with the PV tackle; or in the (detached) garage. Putting it in the loft makes more sense to me especially because in mine there is a largely redundant distribution circuit of 10 or 16 mm² cable (I have not looked closely yet).

A neighbour is delighted with his PV array and 9 kWh battery - his are in the integral garage.

So which is better: a battery in the loft, which might cause severe damage to the roof; or in an integral garage, which could burn the whole house down?

I think that my vote is for the loft.

Chris Pearson said:

(1) Upgrading my fire alarms - TBH, it should have been done years ago, so perhaps it is not as relevant as it seems.

The IET CoP has referred to BS 5839-6 for this particular topic since the 1st Edition in 2015. What's confusing is that BS 5839 series is a "Code of Practice", and therefore has "recommendations" ("should", "recommend") rather than requirements ("shall" like in BS 7671). However, if you are applying a Code of Practice, to comply you need to fulfil all of the recommendations ("should"/"recommend") clauses, whereas to state conformity to a standard, you have to comply with all of the relevant requirements ("shall") but not recommendations ("should"/"recommend").

Chris Pearson said:

(2) Whether the battery would be better in the loft with the PV tackle; or in the (detached) garage. Putting it in the loft makes more sense to me especially because in mine there is a largely redundant distribution circuit of 10 or 16 mm² cable (I have not looked closely yet).

I would be inclined to ask your insurer the question ... but you might not like the answer depending on the particular insurer. Some will say "detached garage or outbuilding" (and some of those might say "at least x m from the main house"). Similarly with EV charging ...

Chris Pearson said:

I think that my vote is for the loft.

As above, some insurance companies may not agree.